That which lies under the surface
by Goldensnake333
Summary: Hermione is part of a spy organisation, the Order of the Phoenix, and is chosen on a special mission against their most dangerous enemy, the Slytherins. This mission involves close contact with Draco Malfoy; and she finds herself falling for him. But can she see past his beliefs and actions? AU-No magic OOC Pairings: DM/HG GW/BZ RW/LB HP/LL Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, I decided to try out this idea I had. Please tell me how you like it. It is AU, there is no magic. It is also probably OOC. I quite want a cover picture for it, so if any of you would like to suggest something please don't hesitate to tell me. I own nothing apart from the plot, please review, and on with the story!**

* * *

For the past ten years, the only thing Hermione Granger knew as inevitable was routine.

It was the same every day; get up, eat, train physically, eat, train mentally, eat, go to bed. With a few exceptions of award giving ceremonies and their one day of rest a month.

For ten years Hermione, along with all her friends, took for granted that the only other people who they came into contact with were their instructors. Nobody else.

It was imperative that unnecessary contact with other members of the organisation was kept to an absolute minimum, for everybody's safety.

At the age of eight, Hermione had run away from home and been taken in to what she had thought was just a regular orphanage, but turned out to be a training centre for the organisation.

To some people, it might have been seen a kidnap, but Hermione along with everybody else had a choice. Stay and complete training and move on to work in the organisation, or leave with no memories and a completely new identity. Not many people chose the latter.

The reason for this was that people who were initiated into the training camp, Hogwarts, found it rather cool that they would be going on to work for the top crime-fighting agency in the world.

Hermione was, in effect, a spy who was part of the Order of the Phoenix. The group was founded to target the world's top crime organisations and take them out. This meant that said crime organisations were constantly trying to take them out, so secrecy was imperative for survival.

Hogwarts itself was a fortress, right in the wastelands of Scotland. With all the mountains and the lake and, of course, the highly fortified castle; it was an ideal place to train new recruits for ten years until they were ready to move on.

They only took orphans or children who wouldn't be missed of the street so as to be more discreet. They had several feeder orphanages placed in the major cities of the world that gave them only the brightest, fittest and best of the children.

Hermione had been chosen for her truly outstanding academic prowess, the instructors always said she had an excellent future in strategy ahead of her.

In the afternoons she focused on honing her mind's ability to the absolute maximum, as that was her strongest field.

The students were split into two, those who would go on to become the 'thinkers' and those who would go on to become the 'doers' as Harry had once so eloquently put it.

The mornings were dedicated to physical training, and those going on to be 'doers' were given their own personal trainer whereas the 'thinkers' trained in a group, and vice versa for the afternoons.

Hermione's personal instructor, Minerva McGonagall, said she was quite possible the brightest student of her age, and focused on developing Hermione's brain to the best it could possibly be.

It was down to a rigorous routine that Hermione had learned to be as dedicated and focused as she was, so she could not, for the life of her, understand why McGonagall was leading her to the meeting room when she was supposed to be in the library working on increasing her mental capacity.

Hermione was dying to ask what was going on, but another thing they were taught was to just accept things and get on with them.

Harry's teacher, Alastor Moody, often told Harry 'when in doubt, shut your trap.' Although rather rudely put, he did have a point, so Hermione locked her lips together and focused on the sound of her footsteps echoing against the ancient stone walls.

When they finally arrived to the door to the meeting room, Hermione stood back. She had never been inside the meeting room before, so she let McGonagall do it.

The door itself was an intricately designed statue of a big bird that Hermione guessed was a phoenix. There was a keypad to the side of it and McGonagall entered the six-digit code before stepping back to let the door swing open.

To Hermione's surprise, instead of there being a room through the door, there was instead a spiral staircase leading up. McGonagall began going up, and motioned for Hermione to do the same. When they reached the top, there was a simple oak door standing before them.

McGonagall rapped crisply three times on the door, before it opened and a sullen looking man emerged.

"Lovely day isn't it?" he asked gruffly.

"It certainly is. I might go and visit the sweet shop." McGonagall replied.

"Will you buy me some sweets?"

"Of course. I assume you would like sherbet lemons?"

The man nodded and opened the door for them to walk through. Hermione now understood that that odd little conversation was obviously a password of sorts. Whoever was in the room must be extremely important, she thought.

Walking into the room Hermione instantly catalogued the other occupants, just as she was trained to do. Harry and Ron, who she knew of course, were there with their instructors Alastor Moody and Bill Weasley.

The remaining three occupants of the room she was not familiar with, however. Two were obviously bodyguards, and they were standing slightly behind the third figure.

He was seated at the large desk in the centre of the room, and despite his kind face he emanated a powerful aura that commanded respect. He was old, with a long white beard and twinkling eyes behind half-moon spectacles.

"Good afternoon, my friends." He said, his voice, while gentle, oozed with authority. "My name is Godric Gryffindor. Of course that is not my real name, but one of my many fake ones."

He chuckled lightly, and Hermione could see Ron gazing incredulously at him out of the corner of her eye. She was not surprised; sharing so much information was crazy. If 'Godric' had noticed Ron, which he probably had, he didn't show it but instead carried on speaking.

"All you three need know about me is that I am one of the highest ranking members of the Order of the Phoenix there is. I am here today to give you a mission."

This time, both Ron and Harry gaped at each other, excitement written all over their faces. Hermione nearly failed to suppress her eyes rolling at them.

"Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Together you three make quite the team, you know." He said thoughtfully. "Tell me, have any of you ever heard of the Slytherins?"

All three nodded, nobody in the order had not heard of the Slytherins. As the largest organised crime group in the world, they were the biggest threat. Led by the elusive Lord Voldermort, they specialised in everything from assassination to major drug dealing.

Godric looked at Hermione, "Miss Granger, I hear you are the brains of the group, please inform me what you know about hexes."

Hermione nodded and told him with ease, this was her field. "Hexes were developed by the Slytherins as offensive weapons that helped them with their… schemes. They are, in essence, different sorts of highly advanced drugs, usually in the form of a liquid. Some examples are the Sectumsempra Hex, which induces heavy external bleeding, and the Jelly-Legs Hex, which renders a victim unable to walk for a minimum of twelve hours."

Godric nodded, looking impressed. "Exactly right, Miss Granger," he said, smiling at her, "now tell me, have you ever heard of the Death-Eaters?"

Hermione shook her head, disappointed that she didn't know. Seeing her disappointment, Godric chuckled. "No need to look so disheartened, Miss Granger, the Death-Eaters are very new and it's classified information, anyway."

Hermione smiled, relieved, but she saw Harry frown from beside her, "Forgive me, sir, but if it's classified information, why are you telling us?"

Godric leant forward on the desk and looked each one of them in the eye. "It's information for the mission, of course! The Death-Eaters are three incredibly advanced, incredibly dangerous, hexes. There is the Imperio that will make the victim do whatever they are told until it is out of their system, the Crucio will inflict short bursts of agony, and the Avada Kedavra will, well, let's just say it is fatal."

Hermione, Ron and Harry looked at each other, and she could see the alarm on their faces.

"But surely," stuttered Ron, "drugs such as those are powerful enough for Slytherin to take over, well, _everything_!"

Godric nodded gravely. "Yes, Ronald, quite right. Luckily for us they are still being tested and we still have time to send in someone to destroy the Death-Eaters. Normally I wouldn't dare risk an operation such as this on an enemy like Slytherin, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Is that why you want us," asked Harry quietly, "to destroy the Death-Eaters?"

"Yes," said Godric, "that is exactly what I want you to do. You might want to take a seat; this briefing could take a little while."

As they sat down on the three leather armchairs in front of the desk, Godric pulled out a file and opened it for them to see. Inside there was a picture of a tall, intimating man with long white-blond hair and a cane.

"This is Lucius Malfoy," said Godric, "he is in charge of the development of the Death-Eaters, which is taking place in the laboratories underneath his mansion. He is a typical business tycoon; powerful, wealthy and as cold as stone. He would be impossible to mess with. However, luckily for us, he has a son."

Here Godric pulled out another file and opened it for them to see a picture of an even taller boy, about their age, with messy blond hair and sharp features. Hermione sucked in a breath at seeing him. Being at a training school she was surrounded by handsome and muscly boys, but there was something about his elven features and lean build that was undeniably gorgeous.

She blushed at her own thoughts and shook her head, trying to ignore the looks of the boy and focus on the task at hand.

"Draco Malfoy, whilst still haughty, arrogant and cold, is our ticket in. Lucius Malfoy has decided that his son needs to learn French, German and Russian by a tutor his own age, and has said that the tutor will live in the manor until his son is fluent. That is where you come in, Hermione. I trust you speak all three languages?"

Hermione grinned. "Nous pouvons tous parler français, monsieur. Einige die sehr erfahren sind weiβ Deutsch. Odnako ya tol'ko beglo goverit' po-russki."

"Very good, Miss Granger!" appraised Godric.

"What did she say?" whispered Ron to Harry. Godric overheard and grinned.

"She said; we all speak French, sir. Some who are very skilled speak German. However only I speak fluent Russian."

"Oh." Muttered Ron causing Hermione to grin slyly. "Vy vse yeshche moy drug, dazhe yesli vy ne govorite Rossii."

"You are still my friend, even if you don't speak Russian." offered Godric from the sidelines.

Ron scowled at Hermione whilst muttering something about 'know-it-all' in French under his breath.

"Je t'adore aussi, Ron." She said sarcastically, still grinning at him.

"Yeah, yeah," he growled, "just get on with the briefing. I think we've established that Hermione can speak multiple languages."

Godric chuckled and continued. "Hermione, we shall apply you to this job with a gleaming record from a prestigious school and a new name."

Hermione frowned; she didn't much fancy the idea of going into a lion's den, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Can I keep my first name please?" she asked.

Godric looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding, "Yes, I don't see why not. It will certainly make things less confusing for you, but I warn you it is risky."

Hermione nodded, she didn't mind taking a small risk considering she would be taking much larger ones anyway.

"We shall change you surname to Rivers, I think. Yes, Hermione Rivers sounds quite nice to me." Godric said, happily staring into the distance.

"Yes, yes, it's lovely name," Harry interrupted, "but I think we are focusing on the wrong things. Doesn't it seem a bit suspicious that Lucius Malfoy has randomly requested a complete stranger to come into his and have close access with his son? For all we know, this could be a honey trap for spies. Apart from anything else, Hermione will come into close contact with some of the most brutal men on earth; do you really want to risk her safety?"

Godric sighed, and readjusted his glasses. "Whilst I understand your troubles, Mr Potter, they are unnecessary. We have received information from an inside source that whilst Lucius might use the opportunity to flush out some spies, he does actually want a tutor for his son. And Hermione has been trained in various martial arts; she can take care of herself."

Harry nodded warily, not sure whether to be reassured.

"Now," announced Godric with a renewed vigour, "on with the main plan. We shall plant Hermione in Malfoy manor as Draco's tutor, and there she shall learn about the layout of the mansion and try to discover the codes and such. Miss Granger, I will leave it to your judgement what methods should be used in order to obtain this information, however I do feel that using Draco himself could prove useful. I trust you know how to manipulate a teenage boy."

Hermione blushed slightly, she had been trained at how to obtain information through seduction, but she was not the ideal person to use her body to her advantage. To her knowledge, the Order used leggy blonds like Lavender Brown to do that kind of thing.

Godric carried on, oddly merry, "Mr Weasley, during all of Hermione's time you shall be her main point of contact. I hear you are rather good at computers, you shall be the one receiving and sending messages to Miss Granger and when the time comes you will sneak Harry and his team into the Manor. Harry, you will be responsible for the actual break-in and destruction of the lab. Do you all understand?"

They all nodded eagerly, looking at each other in excitement.

"If I may sir," asked Ron, "why us? Surely there are much more experienced agents then us, whilst we haven't even graduated yet."

Godric chuckled, "Now that is a good question. Lucius Malfoy will be looking for burly men to be spies, people who look like James Bond. You must understand he is an arrogant, sexist aristocrat; he is far too conceited to believe that a young girl could have a hidden agenda.

"Therefore, we ideally wanted a girl who was young and innocent-looking, somebody that doesn't particularly stand out in the crowd. A bookish wall-flower who nobody would spare a second glance. No offense, Miss Granger…" He paused looking at her.

She smiled bitterly, "None taken, sir." She knew she was no extraordinary beauty, and she hadn't spared a second though to her looks before the day she discovered her crush on Ron Weasley. After that, she constantly felt inadequate whenever he flirted with the likes of Lavender Brown.

"Anyway," Godric continued, "only a select few of our agents fit that bill, and we desired a complete team of three who would know and look out for each other. I know you three are particularly close friends, and that means you will look out for each other's safety more so than others. That made you our golden choice, sort of a 'golden trio' of sorts." He chuckled at his own words.

Hermione exchanged a wary look with Ron and Harry, the latter of which spoke up. "Yes, we do look out for each other's safety. That is why I want you to swear you will do everything in your power to make sure Hermione will get out of this alive."

Godric smiled at his serious expression, "Of course. I swear on my name that I will do all I can to ensure all three of you make it out alive."

Ron snorted, "We don't even know your real name!"

Godric stuck his hand out for Ron to shake. "Pleased to meet you, Ronald. My name is Albus Dumbledore."

* * *

The following day had all three of them on special courses. Harry was learning how to manoeuvre a team of five through a Manor with top security. Ronald was learning how to take down the defences of said Manor. Hermione was busy building her new identity with McGonagall.

Her personal trainer was currently lecturing her on the importance of one's handbag; her stern face contorted in concentration. Creating false identities was her other job.

"A girl's handbag is her whole identity, and therefore what we put in your bag, which Lucius will invariably have searched, will become you. We want to create the image of a shy, single bookworm who's main priority is her studies."

"Sounds pretty much like my current identity," muttered Hermione under her breath, earning a scowl from her tutor.

"I'm thinking we want a book, a notebook filled with notes, several pens, spare flashcards, hair brush and ties, some very light make-up, an iPhone and a purse. The last two we'll need to fill with appropriate things as well."

McGonagall walked over to a file-ex cabinet and yanked open a draw filled with specially made purses and wallets that were artificially worn. She pulled out a light blue one that had a section for notes, a section for coins and a section for cards. It was slightly frayed at the edges and the design was simple.

"Here we are," said McGonagall, "this one is perfect. I'd say a maximum of thirty pounds in notes and a small amount of loose change. I think gift cards for Waterstones and WHsmiths along with a library card. We'll include other cards including a bank card, a Tesco's clubcard and a fake driver's license."

Hermione nodded, "I think there should also be some receipts for books, mints and some other random bits. In my handbag I think there should also be a bookmark and a half-finished packet of polos."

"Excellent ideas. As for your phone, I think a white iPhone 4S with a floral case. No password, standard lock screen background and a photo of you with a friend for your home screen. This friend will be your 'best friend' and I think she should be called Lucy. Your other friends should include Toby and Samara. These three will be the only ones you have informal text conversations with.

"Photos will be a trip to London with your three friends and random selfies with them and your parents. You will have a crush on a boy called Danny and he will be amongst your contacts. Your texts with him will be slightly awkward, but sweet. Your other texts will be with your 'mother', your 'father' and some 'teachers'.

"Apps should include 'Flow' and 'Candy Crush', but keep it minimal. Music should be calm and relaxing, I'm thinking Coldplay, The Script and a random obscure band you will have a weird obsession with. That should be it, I'll get the team to work on forging fake phone and text conversations, obviously we'll need to script those and have you and another person read them out. We might need to do a photo-shoot as well…"

McGonagall swiftly began to scribble down the 'to-do' list on the whiteboard.

"I'll get some people on your clothes and other possessions, I'm thinking floral."

She picked up the phone and started barking orders at the people on the other end. Hermione sighed and looked over the long list on the whiteboard; she would have a lot to do before going to the interview in five days.

The lunch bell rang throughout the castle, and McGonagall waved her hand to dismiss Hermione.

Making her way to the dining hall, she bumped into Ginny Weasley, her best girl-friend.

"Hermione! Tell me all about the mission! You are so lucky, you know." Ginny gasped, grabbing on to her arm.

"How do you even know, it's supposed to be classified information." Hermione chuckled. "Sorry Ginny, I can't tell you. However, I don't doubt one of those brothers of yours has already told you!"

The Weasley brood were one of the very few who weren't orphans. Molly and Arthur Weasley, their parents, were top agents and had insisted all seven of their children be trained properly. Hermione knew that Ginny wished to be a field agent, which Hermione was becoming in a matter of days.

Ironically, she had never envisioned herself as a field agent. She had always thought that she would become someone behind the scenes. She wasn't sure how she felt about the sudden turn around.

Ginny pouted at Hermione's refusal to tell her the details of the mission, but soon forgot it in her excitement to tell Hermione her news.

"Hermione, guess what? I've qualified to take the exam to maybe get on Harry's team!" she gushed, swinging of Hermione's arm.

"Ginny, that's great!" Hermione said. "But I actually want to ask you a favour. How would you like to become my honorary 'best friend' for my new identity?"

Ginny grinned widely, and nodded her head manically.

"I think McGonagall wants you to be called Lucy," continued Hermione, "but we could probably persuade her to keep you Ginny."

"Awesome," said Ginny, bouncing in excitement, "I heard we get to do photo shoots and stuff for fake photos. I'm a natural at photos!" she paused to flick her hair jokingly, making Hermione laugh.

"Obviously. It also means I'll be able to talk to you when I'm actually there. It will make me feel better to have a close friend to communicate with, instead of a fake one." She said, smiling at Ginny.

Ginny grinned back and they entered the dining room together.

After collecting some food they made their way over to sit at a table with Ron, Harry, Lavender, Seamus and Luna. Ron was busy gawking at Lavender, who was busy flicking her hair and laughing at something Seamus said, her one long leg crossed over the other. Hermione felt a stab of jealousy, but she stomped it down. They were taught to have maximum control over their emotions.

"Hermione! How are yer, lass?" Seamus asked in his thick Irish lilt. Hermione smiled and sat down at the bench.

"I'm fine thanks, Sea. And yourself?"

"Aye, all's well." He replied, in between mouthfuls of bread. "Harry's been telling us of yer top secret mission. I have ta say, yer a load o' lucky bastards!"

Hermione giggled at his expression, which conveyed equal amounts of outrage and humour.

"We are, aren't we?" announced Ron arrogantly, still eyeing Lavender, obviously hoping to impress her.

"And guess who's been asked to act as Hermione's honorary best friend? Me of course!" Ginny grinned, smugly staring around the table. Harry looked horrified and slammed his fork down.

"But Ginny! What about Quidditch?" he asked her incredulously.

"What is 'Quidditch', Harry?" Lavender asked; a confused expression on her face. Harry sighed dramatically.

"Quidditch; it's what I'm calling my response team. Ginny qualified to be in it." He said glumly, slumping down in his chair. Hermione knew he would be disappointed about her not becoming part of his team; he always had had a small crush on her.

"My duty to Hermione is more important! And on a stronger note; it's more fun as well! I might even get to visit you as your 'best friend', and help you with the mission. That would be awesome!" she sighed, lost in her daydreams of becoming the Order's top spy.

Hermione chuckled. "I also need three other 'friends'. Seamus, would you act as Toby?"

"Aye, lass, t'would be an honour!" he grinned at her.

"Good. Lavender, would you mind being Samara?" she asked the ditzy blond.

Lavender turned and grinned at her. "Yes, I would like that." She said in her smooth voice.

Hermione nodded. That just left her supposed 'crush', Danny. She turned to Ron.

"Um, Ron, would you please be Danny?" she asked nervously.

"Sure," he said nonchalantly, "but I thought McGonagall would have only wanted one guy friend. Why two?"

"Um, well, you see," Hermione started, "Danny isn't my friend, so much as my… crush. It will be completely fake, of course!" she added hurriedly.

Ron nodded again, completely at cool. "Sure, whatever. I'll pose for a few photos."

Hermione sighed; this clearly wasn't a big deal to him. It only went to show he thought of her as no more than a sister. Lavender, however…

She shook her head; this kind of thinking was no use to her. She instead began silently reciting Latin verbs to keep her mind occupied.

Soon supper was finished and Ginny dragged Hermione to their dorm. The dorms held five people; and you could choose who you would bunk with. Hermione was currently bunking with Ginny, Lavender and Luna. The fifth bed they had converted into a sofa.

Plonking herself down on the sofa-bed, Ginny looked at Hermione seriously. "Now we must discuss the most important thing of all. What clothes and make-up you are going to bring."

Hermione chuckled and sat down next to Ginny. It amazed her; a girl could grow up in a military environment and still be obsessed with fashion and their looks. Personally Hermione had never seen the appeal, but she knew for a fact she was the odd one out. Ginny would not leave her alone until they had a full wardrobe planned.

"Well, McGonagall seems to like the idea of dresses and skirts. Apparently they should be flattering but innocent." Hermione admitted reluctantly.

"Right," said Ginny, her mind already at work, "I think we should go with skater skirts that reach to just above the knee, with pastel colours. I know it's autumn and those are quite spring looks, but I think we want to make sure you don't look like you know too much about fashion. We could also include…"

Ginny started babbling at about a hundred miles an hour, Hermione heard mentions of white blouses, blue pumps and cute pyjamas (which, quite frankly, worried her) but the majority went over her head. At some point Lavender and Luna walked in, and Lavender immediately began donating her opinions. Soon they had moved on from clothes to make-up.

"…very natural, no heavy liquid eyeliner or anything. Gentle blue, greens and pinks for eye shadow and lip gloss as opposed to lipstick. What do you think, Hermione?"

"Hmm? Sorry, what?" Hermione said, yanked out of her daydreams. Ginny looked at her exasperatedly and shook her head.

"Honestly, you are completely hopeless! We were discussing your skin tone and we asked your opinion on the matter."

Hermione shrugged lightly. "You know how little I care about this kind of thing, I trust you guys to get it right. Just make sure you tell McGonagall."

Ginny sighed but nodded and got up to find McGonagall, motioning for Lavender to do the same. Hermione collapsed back onto her bed with a sigh.

"Don't worry Hermione," Luna said quietly, "I know they must be scaring you a little with their excitement of this mission. I don't think they quite understand how dangerous it is actually going to be. You can relax though; you're too clever to let anything happen."

Hermione smiled, bemused. Luna seemed to have this magical ability of reading people. It was equally useful and annoying. At the moment though, it was quite reassuring.

Luna was quite right; Hermione was scared out of her skin. Just thinking about the pressure that would be put on her made her squirm. Luna's comforting words made her feel marginally better, but not completely so.

Hermione blew out a sigh; what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

The next three days passed in a whir of activity.

In just three short days they had made Hermione an entire wardrobe, plus accessories, as well as preparing her phone, purse, handbag and other possessions.

The photo-shoot had been interesting. She was made to pose in various outfits in front of a green screen, along with Ginny, Lavender and Seamus. She had only done a select few with Ron, however.

She was quite impressed with the finished results. They had pasted various different angles of London, and made it so they looked completely natural in the busy city.

She was also happy with her range of possessions.

The normal things included plentiful books, stationary, exercise books for Draco, one or two for her from her supposed 'school'.

The school was Beauxbatons, and whilst it was an actual school (a very good one, at that) it new about the Order and helped them with missions such as this. Hermione had a glowing report from her supposed head teacher, Madame Maxime.

She also now owned an enormous poster of Coldplay and an iPod full of their music. She actually quite liked their music, but not as much as her new identity did.

Amongst her possessions there was a cute jewellery box with both normal and not-normal jewellery. The not-normal jewellery had mini cameras and recording devices on them. She was required to wear one at all time around Lucius, and so she settled on almost permanently wearing an elegant wristwatch rigged with recording tech.

She was going to the interview tomorrow, and everybody was absolutely sure she couldn't not get the job. However, Hermione did not share this sentient, and requested that her last day be normal.

This meant getting up at seven and being at breakfast by seven thirty.

When she walked into the dining hall for her meal, dressed in appropriate exercise gear, she quickly spotted her friends sitting at one of the far tables.

Grabbing some toast she made her way over to their table. They were all wearing similar things to her, or, vaguely similar.

Whilst Hermione sported some dark tracksuits and a lycra top with her frizzy hair plaited, Lavender was dressed in a just a sports bra and lycra shorts, showing off her well-formed stomach, legs and arms. Being on the rigorous training routine they were on, they all had good bodies, but Hermione didn't feel comfortable revealing her body like that around so many other people.

Her own good body had caused some problems; people had asked what her excuse would be if Draco or Lucius noticed her unusually strong form. McGonagall had decided that it would be best to say she could do karate and had a running machine which she studied on. This would also help avoid any awkward situations if either of them saw her doing any martial arts in self-defence or something.

After breakfast they went to the gym as usual to do an hour on the various machines. Hermione chose to do some vigorous cycling, and from there she switched between watching the music channel on the TV and Ron and Seamus fighting elegantly on the mats.

After that, they made their way to the large field around the back of the castle for their martial arts practice. From there they split up into those with personal trainers and those who trained in small groups.

They were just practicing simple surprise attack methods and Hermione was pared with Luna, and for an hour they sparred together.

Because they were both rather small, both girls relied heavily on their speed which meant they aimed to take out their partner's legs. They were taught which body types required which methods, and Hermione knew how to easily take out a man twice her weight. However, Luna had a natural elegance and seemed to dance around Hermione's various attacks. This just made Hermione all the more determined.

The hour after that was devoted to fighting strategy, and the one after that was for weaponry.

Hermione could use most weapons, but she favoured using two forked daggers in hand to hand combat. She was best at using a hand pistol, but she could use most guns.

From twelve to one thirty was lunch, and people usually liked to shower, then eat, then prepare for the next bout of lessons.

The first hour was reading body language and how to manipulate people. Hermione wasn't too good at manipulation, but she could do it.

The second hour was mental and emotional training. Hermione was very good at this, as she had a very powerful mind.

After that was clue searching for half an hour, then subject studies for two hours.

Subject studies were the normal school subject only in the context of spying. This was personal studying, and you could make use of the library; the media room or the teachers.

Lessons ended at six and supper was at seven. People sometimes dressed up nicely for dinner, but mostly people just wore comfortable, casual clothes.

After supper was free time. Under fifteen year olds had to be in bed by nine and lights out at ten. Over fifteens could get into bed whenever they wanted, as long as lights were out by midnight. Usually people were asleep by eleven or earlier though, as the days were long and hard.

Hermione's favourite activity in summer was to go out onto the fields and find somewhere to read quietly, or talk to her friends. As the days got darker though, she liked to hang out in the library or the dorms.

The boys sometimes liked going out into the woods when it was dark, but so far Hermione had only joined them twice. Tonight though, she knew they were planning a jaunt around the woods and she fully intended to join them.

"I'm going to go into the woods with Harry, Ron and Sea tonight. Any of you want to come?" she asked Ginny, Lavender and Luna as they got ready for supper.

For Ginny and Lavender, going into the woods with the boys was commonplace, so they had no trouble nodding their heads readily. After they had gotten over their initial shock, of course. Luna also agreed to come, considering it was Hermione's last night there for some while.

They all traipsed down to supper, where they could smell spaghetti bolognaise. Grabbing her food, Hermione once again joined the boys along with the girls.

"So," announced Ginny, "Hermione the scaredy-cat has finally agreed to come with us into the woods tonight!"

They all looked rather in shock, and Ron pretended to have a heart-attack. They all laughed at this, and at Hermione's face.

"Shut up you gits!" she complained. "I could die on this mission! I want to have some good memories to take with me to the grave!"

"Never thought I'd see the day!" Harry chuckled, earning himself a scowl from Hermione.

Soon after supper they snuck out of the castle and ran cross the fields into the woods.

The beams of light shining from their torches rebounded off of the trees, making them look bigger and more intimidating than they actually were. They were surrounded by the sounds of the night, without being able to see anything.

"I know there aren't wolves in Britain; but I swear I just heard one!" Hermione gasped, clinging tighter to Ginny's arm. "What do we do know?"

"Well," said Harry, "we could play ghost hide and seek?"

Hermione paled at his suggestion. Ghost hide and seek involved the 'hiders' stalking the 'seeker' and trying to scare them out of their skin. She did not particularly fancy that.

"No, definitely not!" she announced. "Why don't we just sit in a circle and tell ghost stories?"

"Come on, 'Mione," complained Seamus, "find yer courage, lass! We'll freeze our arses off out here jes' sitting around."

"Yeah, come on! This is what we always do. If it helps, I'll count first and we won't make you count, okay?" said Ron comfortingly, slinging an arm around her. In the dark she blushed, very aware of her physical contact with Ron.

"Alright then. But I want us all to have a torch in case there is an emergency." She said.

Harry nodded. "Yes, but only the seeker can use it during the game. Cheer up, 'Mione, think of it as training."

"Okay," said Hermione, "start counting, Ron."

As Ron counted to fifty against a tree, Hermione melded into the night along with everybody else. When he had finished counting, he started walking around; flashing the torch everywhere he heard a sound.

Silencing her footsteps, Hermione followed him through the trees. She focused on using all of her senses to aid her, acutely aware of every rustle. She knew exactly where the others were, but was pretty sure they didn't know where she was.

One by one Ron caught the others before they had a chance to leap out and scare him. Soon enough she was the only one left.

"Right, that's everyone except for Hermione. Have any of you se- ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!" Ron yelled as Hermione leapt on his back, effectively scaring him.

All the others broke down laughing at Ron, and Hermione chuckled slightly at them.

"I knew yer had it in yer, lass!" Seamus announced, wiping away tears of mirth.

"That was priceless Hermione!" Ginny gushed between chortles at her brother.

For another two hours they played ghost hide and seek before heading into the castle and up to bed.

* * *

The morning came all too quickly for Hermione, as she was tired out by the previous night's events. Soon her day's schedule flooded her brain, and she groaned into her pillow.

She had a helicopter taking her to a private airfield, before a taxi would take her to Malfoy manor which was in Wiltshire. The taxi driver would be a fellow agent.

She glanced at her clock, it read quarter to seven. She had precisely three and a half hours before she had to be on the helicopter.

She stumbled through breakfast and afterwards made her way to the library to go over the final details with McGonagall.

"Remember, try to remain yourself as much as possible to minimise the risk of exposure due to a slip-up. Use your own favourite book, film et cetera to avoid problems."

Hermione nodded and mentally went over everything she had to remember. It was a very long list. Before long it was time to go.

There to bid her goodbye before she left were Ginny, Harry, Ron, Lavender, Luna, Seamus, various trainers and Dumbledore himself.

After hugging her friends goodbye, she walked up to Dumbledore. His eyes twinkled merrily behind his spectacles and smiled kindly down at her.

"You will be absolutely fine, Miss Granger. Don't worry about a single thing." He reassured her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder. She nodded and said goodbye to him.

She gave herself a mental pep talk as she climbed into the helicopter with all her luggage, and turned to wave her friends goodbye before the helicopter door closed and it took off.

The journey didn't take that long at all in the helicopter, and before she knew it Hermione was in the taxi driving towards Wiltshire. She had left her luggage in the helicopter; when, _if, _she got the job she would have it sent to her.

All too soon the car drew up outside the imposing gates of Malfoy manor, and Hermione couldn't help but gulp. The place was absolutely huge.

Nervously, she walked towards the gates and watched in fear as the car drove away. She turned and was just about to push open the gates when they opened in front of her.

She walked slowly down the wide path and looked up at the huge doors at the entrance; and more importantly, the man with long blond hair and icy blue eyes standing in front of them. Lucius Malfoy.

* * *

**There you have it guys, I hope you enjoyed it. I will hopefully update soon and I'll see you then!**

**GoldieXx **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello guys! Thanks to all who read and favourited this story, and please continue to do so! Please give me your suggestions for songs and any suggestions really! I own nothing, please read and review and on with the story!**

* * *

Hermione gulped as she felt Lucius Malfoy's cool eyes appraising her. She smoothed her skirt awkwardly under his scrutiny. After what felt like years he finally sneered and gestured for her to follow him inside. She nodded and scurried after him, struggling to keep up with his quick pace without running.

The inside of the manor was just as impressive as the outside. The parlour was enormous with a huge staircase leering in front of her, splitting into two directions at the top. As she followed him, she passed many large, spacious rooms with high ceiling and vast windows. Each room was filled with antique furniture and fancy possessions, and Hermione could only attempt a guess as to how rich this man really was. Apparently being a high-end drug lord resulted in this kind of finance. The world was a cruelly ironic place at times.

After following him through multiple hallways and up various staircases, Lucius finally stopped outside a large set of mahogany double doors. Throwing them open dramatically, Lucius strode into the room with an arrogant spring in his step. He strode behind the massive oak desk and sat down on the leather chair behind it.

Standing in the doorway awkwardly, Hermione shifted, unsure of what to do. They hadn't warned her that this man was a glorified _shark_. Well they had actually, but Hermione had zero experience with dealing with sharks. And this shark was currently staring at her like she was stupid.

"Are you going to sit, or not?" he asked her in a smooth voice, dripping with sarcasm. Everything about this man screamed aristocrat.

She gulped and nodded, nervously sitting down in a small red chair in front of his desk.

_Just breathe, Hermione. You can do this! For heaven's sake, you are able to take down a full grown man, you can recite Greek verbs backwards, you know the exact weight down to the last milligram of the Eiffel tower! Who else in the world is crazy enough to know that? If you are crazy enough to know that, you can certainly-_

"So, girl, tell me your name, age and three reasons why you are here." Lucius drawled, interrupting her mental pep talk. Her eyes widened, he didn't do things halfway! She really wished she was wearing an earpiece, but the Order hadn't wanted to risk it.

"Well," she started nervously, "my name is Hermione Rivers and I am eighteen years old. I am here because it is valuable work experience, I can speak the three languages you require plus two more and my head teacher recommended me to do it before I go to University."

"I see," he said, "tell me, what other languages do you speak?"

"Spanish and Chinese, sir."

He nodded, looking vaguely impressed.

"Very good. Now, Miss Rivers, I'm sure you understand that I am a very important man with enormous influence over the country. So therefore, I hope you will not be offended if I ask to look through your handbag." He said, holding out his hand for her handbag. She handed it over quickly. She had been expecting this, but she hadn't though he would do it himself.

He started rifling through her bag, pausing every now and again to inspect an object. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he pushed her bag to the side to inspect her phone.

Not looking up from it, he spoke lazily. "The only informal text conversations you seem to have are with Ginny, Samara, Toby and Danny. Tell me, who is your closest friend out of the four of them?"

"Ginny, sir."

He nodded, "Good, if you get the job I have no problem with female visitors. Male visitors will not be permitted. Which leads on to my next question, which of the two boys is your boyfriend?"

He really was a nosy git. But Hermione sighed and said, "Neither, sir."

"Hmm, I guess this is a good thing, it means you won't whinge as much when I don't allow either of them to visit. Though, judging by your posture around this ginger one in this photo, I think you have a thing for him."

Hermione blushed, in the photos she hadn't done that on purpose. It was just that fact that she had a thing for Ron. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't see how this affects the job one way or another."

He sneered at her, "You are right, it has nothing to do with the _job; _it is to do with _you._ You will find I excel at reading people, Miss Rivers, and the type of boy you like is extremely relevant to the type of person you are which will affect your performance levels. Tell me about this red-head."

Hermione sucked in a breath; she hadn't thought he would be so _perceptive._" We've been friends for years, sir. Since childhood. His name is Danny, and he likes football, computers and spending time with his friends. He's really funny and sweet, but obnoxious at the same time. He can also be seriously oblivious and annoying at times. Heck, he is downright _infuriating _when he wants to be!" Hermione stopped, sensing she was babbling.

Lucius smirked; apparently making her babble was the aim. That skill was something that couldn't be taught, you either had it or you didn't. Lucius Malfoy had it in droves.

"Clearly this boy had no idea of your feeling towards him," he sneered, "anyway, I am not an agony aunt, get over this boy."

Hermione scowled at his rude bluntness, but he just carried on talking.

"Moving on, tell me about you. What is your favourite book?"

For questions like these, she knew to answer her own opinions. This was an easy question for her.

"Macbeth, sir."

His eyebrows twitched slightly in surprise, but the haughty smirk remained on his face.

"Really? I have to admit, I did not expect that. Please, walk me through why it is your favourite."

"Well," Hermione said, thinking deeply, "I think I like it because it tells the absolute truth about the worst parts of people; how things like wealth and power drive men to heinous acts. It is brutally honest about the divider between men who let themselves be ruled by their greed, and those who don't. The style of the language also fascinates me; Shakespeare had a magic way with words. I love how the beauty of the words almost hide the brutality they are meant to convey. I think it is a metaphor for how we cannot trust outward appearances, we must look beneath the surface."

"Well Miss Rivers," he said, looking impressed, "you are clearly quite the scholar. Do you have a reference from your head teacher?"

She nodded and drew an envelope from her pocket, handing it to him. He opened it and skimmed it over.

"Very impressive, Miss Rivers. I would hire you right away, if it weren't for one thing. I can clearly see you are in a prime physical shape, a body such as yours does not belong to a scholar, rather to a professional athlete. I am not a trusting man, Miss Rivers, and I would like you to explain this peculiarity.

Hermione nodded, she had been expecting this. He was too perceptive to miss it. "I am a black belt in karate, sir. My mother had an abusive boyfriend for five months before she married my father. She wanted to make sure I would be able to defend myself if I found myself in that position. I also like to use a running machine whilst studying."

Lucius nodded, clearly believing her story. The part about her mother was partly true; the only detail she had missed out was that her mother had married the abusive boyfriend before he became abusive.

"I have to say, Miss Rivers, you are almost too good to be true. You speak five other languages, you are highly educated and you know karate. Is there anything you can't do?"

"I happen to be rubbish at cooking, sir, plus I have zero knowledge of team sports."

He smirked at her, "It is reassuring to know you are not perfect, but you are good enough for the job, congratulations. You start now."

She sighed in relief and terror.

* * *

Flopping down on her bed, she mused on her day so far.

After the interview Lucius had summoned a maid to show her to her room. Although she worked there now, apparently she didn't qualify as a 'servant', meaning she got to stay in a guest room. The maid had shown her to it and arranged to have her bags delivered later that day.

The room itself was absolutely beautiful. It was square-shaped with an en-suite bathroom. The far wall was almost completely windows, and there was a glass door leading out to the balcony. Heavy floral green curtains hung either side, ready to be drawn at night. Against the middle of right wall was a king-sized four poster bed with pink floral covers that matched the pattern of the curtains. There were white bedside-tables either side of the bed, each with a lamp.

Against the left wall were the two doors leading to the bathroom and the walk-in wardrobe. There was also a long, white bookshelf that only reached to hip-height, the top of which could be used for placing things.

There was a pink, shag rug in the centre of the floor in an oval shape that looked all too comfortable. The floor itself was light wood planks that were smooth and slippery. The walls and ceiling were a nice cream colour. A large white desk stood a little way back from the windows, not quite in the middle of the room. There was a large, leather spin-chair tucked under it facing towards the window.

In the left corner of the room there was an assortment of bean-bags and floor cushions that looked ideal for burying herself in and reading. Two more formal light green armchairs were placed either side of the shag rug facing each other, a small coffee table in the middle of them.

Although it contained a large amount of furniture, it was still very spacious as the room was just so vast. The balcony was the same, with two sun loungers that overlooked the gorgeous property.

The room was amazing, Hermione admitted to herself. At least she would be spying in comfort.

She decided she would read for a bit until her luggage arrived, Hermione ambled over to the bookcase, bending over to inspect the books available to her.

She had just settled down with a copy of Pride and Prejudice when a sharp rap on the door disturbed her. Assuming it was her luggage, she skipped up to the door to open it, only when she did a tall boy about her own age barged past her into the room, sending her a winning smirk.

The messy white-blond hair and piercing grey eyes told her that this had to be Draco Malfoy. He was even better looking up close and in person.

He was tall; about a head taller than her. He was wearing a plain green t-shirt that hugged his chest tightly enough for her to see his lean, muscular form. He also wore loose black slacks and black converse, and several chains and leather cords swung from his neck. One in particular caught her eye; it was a small pendant with a silver dragon figurine on it. She decided she very much liked the look of Draco Malfoy; until he opened his mouth.

"Are you the best father could do? Honestly his standards are sinking. Still, if you did something about that rat's nest on top of your head, you could have potential." His voice was the same confidant drawl as Lucius. In fact, he was very similar to Lucius; Arrogant, haughty and superior.

"I am not here for you viewing pleasure; I am here to teach you various languages." Hermione exclaimed angrily. "Speaking of, exactly how advanced are you?"

He grinned at her, and she couldn't say in wasn't utterly beautiful. "Down to business already? We haven't even had a formal introduction. My name is Draco Malfoy. What's yours?" he asked, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

She accepted it shyly, and looked him right in his gorgeous eyes. "Hermione Rivers. Pleased to meet you, I think."

He grinned like a shark and kissed the back of her hand, making her blush. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine."

She blushed fiercely, pulling her hand back. "Er, thanks? Um, so, when do I start teaching you?"

He chuckled low in his chest, "I see you are a woman of business. My friend Blaise is coming tomorrow for a couple of days, and one he's left we can start. That will give you a few days to settle in."

She nodded, and watched him sit down on her bed.

"Father asked me to go over the house rules with you. No boys upstairs," he sniggered at this, "no disturbing him whilst he's working, ask him before inviting female friends around, don't bother asking if male friends can come. Breakfast and lunch are informal and you can eat anywhere, dinner will be held in the dining room every night but it is your choice whether you attend or not, apart from Wednesdays and Sundays when you will be required to dress up and attend dinner with us."

Hermione nodded, "Understood. What about our working time-table? Where shall we work?"

He shrugged, "My office, your room, the library, wherever really. As for the time-table, we shall work from two till five every weekday and five till four at the weekends. Unless I want to do more, the rest of your day is yours to do with what you will. We have a massive library, extensive grounds and a gym that are all available to you."

This pleased Hermione greatly, a library and a gym! "Those timings work for me. Will I be staying here until you're fluent?"

"Yep," he said, grinning wickedly, "buckle up, sweetheart, because I'm not exactly an 'easy' student. You might be here for longer than you think."

This was fine with Hermione, as she could do with all the time she could get.

There was a knock at the door, and Hermione opened it to reveal a maid with her luggage. She thanked the woman, and dragged the large suitcase into her room.

She opened it and started ferrying her clothes into the walk-in wardrobe. After hanging some dresses up, Hermione walked back into her room to see Draco inspecting some of her underwear.

"Hey! Give those back, you perv!" she yelled, swiping for the panties in his hand. He grinned like a snake and held them above her head, teasing her mercilessly.

"Didn't take you for the type of girl to wear thongs!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, he was right. She was going to kill Ginny and Lavender.

"Give them back! I don't wear thongs, my friends packed them as a joke! Stop it!"

As if summoned by magic, her phone rang from her pocket. When she pulled it out, she saw it was Ginny. As soon as she answered it, Ginny chirped in her ear, "How'd it go? Did you get the job?"

Hermione scowled, "Yes I got the job, but more importantly; thongs Ginny? Really?"

Ginny squealed excitedly in her ear, "You should see the matching bras! You are such a prude we thought we would liven up your underwear ourselves. Every girl needs some exciting panties, 'Mione! Plus, if the son is hot, it could help your chances!"

Evidently Draco could hear what Ginny was saying, as he was grinning evilly at Hermione, making her blush.

"I'm not here for _that_, Ginny! Honestly, sometimes I feel like I don't know you at all!"

Ginny giggled maniacally in her ear, "Maybe, but if he's hot, it could be an added bonus! All you have to is-"

"Goodbye, Ginny!" Hermione cut her off, quickly hanging up. She groaned in frustration and threw the phone onto the desk.

"I like her; you should definitely have her round." Draco smirked cockily from the side. Hermione sent him a withering look and snatched her underwear from him.

"For your information, these are going in the bin. Or being burned, either way I'm going to get rid of them."

Draco mock pouted, "Such a waste."

She finished unpacking her clothes, and started on her possessions. After she picked up a fifth pile of books from her suitcase Draco exclaimed; "Bloody hell! How many books do you need?"

"If you're just going to be mean, then I won't talk to you." She said.

"Okay, okay! I'll be nice…" he grumbled.

She took a poster of Coldplay out of her bag; McGonagall had though it would be a good idea. She started blue-tacking it to the door of the wardrobe when Draco commented on it, "You like Coldplay?"

She nodded, "Yep, they're my favourite band."

"Me too. What' you're favourite song? No wait, let me guess, is it Paradise?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said incredulously, "how did you know that?"

He shrugged, "Just a hunch, I like that one as well, but my favourite is Viva la Vida."

"Yeah, that's a good one." She said.

Having finished packing, she sat down next to Malfoy and considered him. When he wasn't being arrogant, cocky or making fun of her underwear, he was surprisingly pleasant company. He was hot too, she couldn't deny that fact. Intelligent as well, and they shared a favourite band…

She mentally shook herself out of her thoughts. She couldn't afford to get attached in any way to any of them. That would make this job so much harder than it already was.

She sighed and made a mental agreement with herself. No matter how appealing it would be to become friends with Draco, she would resist the temptation and bottle up her emotions. She realised that she was going to be very lonely.

* * *

Sunshine danced through the cracks in the curtains, forcing Hermione's eyes open. She instantly remembered where she was and groaned into her pillow.

Glancing over at the clock on the bedside table, she saw it was seven thirty. Having never actually done it before, Hermione didn't know how to lie in, so she got up straight away.

She walked into the bathroom and appraised herself in the full length mirror. As she had expected; her hair was an absolute monster. Yanking a brush through her hair, she decided she was too hungry to wait for the official breakfast; she had missed supper last night because Draco had shown her the library and she spent five hours in there.

Pulling on some black leggings and a baggy pink jumper that was too big for her, she made her way down to the kitchens, ignoring the monstrosity that was her hair.

As she walked in, a woman with grey hair and a nervous face scurried up to her and asked her if there was anything she needed.

"Could I please have some toast and jam; nothing fancy just something to fill me up."

"Of course Miss," the woman stuttered, looking down nervously at the floor. Hermione frowned; Lucius must be really harsh to his staff.

In a kind voice, she asked; "What's your name?"

The woman looked at her in amazement, "It's Mrs Dobbs, Miss."

"Well, Mrs Dobbs, thank you very much indeed. My name's Hermione." she said, sticking her hand out.

Mrs Dobbs looked very pleased as she shook Hermione's hand firmly. She then set about making her toast at a very quick pace. Ten minutes later Hermione was sitting cross-legged at the table talking to all of the staff in the kitchen. A guest like her was apparently a rarity; Hermione guessed it was because the only guests who came to visit the Malfoys were snobbish aristocrats. Maybe if she played her cards right; the staff would help her out with her mission.

The sound of heels clacking into the kitchen behind Hermione made all the staff jump up and scuttle away like beetles.

"There you are, Miss Rivers, I have been looking for you everywhere." Came the smooth drawl of Lucius, only this time it was laced with irritation. Hermione sighed and braced herself for a fight.

"I was just eating my breakfast, sir. What is it you require?" Hermione asked, turning to face him.

He huffed and approached her quickly. "It is unbecoming, Miss Rivers, to associate yourself with the servants."

Hermione narrowed her eyes; he spoke as if the servants were little more than the scum on his shoe. "They happen to be very pleasant company, sir, better company than some is this house."

Scowling, he towered over her menacingly, "Remember, girl, you are in my house and you are hardly worthy to make such suggestions. Watch your steps, or you may find yourself beyond the pale. You may be smart, but not enough to outwit myself"

Hermione grinned. _Hardly worthy, I'll show him who is hardly worthy. And he has given me the perfect opportunity._

"Beyond the pale? That's a rather unusual saying. I do believe it happens to originate from two places. The first was in Russia when all the Jews were kept in one place surrounded a white fence, hence _pale_, and if they went over it they were breaking the rules. The other was in Dublin back when England controlled it. There was a white fence bordering our territory, and if you went beyond it you were no longer under the law or protection of England."

He sneered at her. "Nobody like a know-it-all, however I do find myself impressed, but you will have to do more than that to gain my respect enough to break my rules. You will not go beyond the pale again, do you understand me?" he added in a threatening tone.

She smiled sweetly, "Of course, Mr Malfoy. I understand completely. What did you need me for?"

"I wanted to tell you that regardless of what Draco tells you, you start tomorrow, even if Blaise is still here." He aid and then swiftly left, not giving her a chance to reply.

She smirked to herself, she had won that battle. Maybe this mission would be easier than she had originally thought.

She turned around to see every member of the kitchen staff gawking openly at her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

* * *

Hermione was walking to her room when she spotted a woman walking towards her.

The woman was impossibly beautiful, with flowing golden hair and a thin-willowy frame. She was wearing a royal purple dress with sparkling jewellery to match. Her elfin features were pointed with high cheekbones and a rosebud mouth. Her eyes were a shocking blue, and they were trained on her.

Hermione suddenly felt very ugly compared to her, with her wild hair and baggy jumper. The woman smiled tightly at her.

"Hello, I assume you are Miss Rivers. I am Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother."

That explained Draco's shocking good looks. He had inherited Lucius' hair and amazingly sharp grey eyes, and Narcissa's elfin beauty.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Malfoy." She said nervously, feeling like a child.

"Likewise. Tell me, did Draco fill you in on the rules?" she asked haughtily. Hermione sighed, these people were so austere, and she thought she was obsessed with sticking to the rules.

"Yes, Ma'am. Mandatory formal dinner on Wednesdays and Sundays, no disturbing Mr Malfoy, stick to the day's timetable, no boys in the house let alone upstairs and ask before inviting female friends."

_No breathing, either_ she added mentally.

Narcissa nodded her head, "Yes, I think that pretty much covers it, apart from a few things. No leaving the grounds without a chaperone and don't go anywhere in the house you are not supposed to be. Also no hanky-panky with Draco himself."

Hermione blushed and stuttered, "What! No, I would never!"

Narcissa looked at her witheringly. "It's not you I'm worried about, dear. Draco isn't exactly picky when it comes to girls, even though he is supposed to have a girlfriend."

Narcissa sighed, and Hermione tried not to dwell on the fact that Draco had a girlfriend. Or on the fact his own mother had basically just called him loose.

"Walk with me." Narcissa commanded, walking briskly down the corridor. Hermione ran to catch up with her. So much for going back to her room.

"So tell me, how is it you speak so many languages?" Narcissa asked.

It probably wasn't a good idea to tell her that it was because she was part of a spy organisation that operated in multiple different countries, so she went for another option.

"Languages always fascinated me, at my school they taught a wide range of them. Having already learnt French at my previous school, I decided to be brave and try Spanish and German as well. Having become fluent in under a year, I decided to do Russian. By then I was pretty good at learning languages, so I picked that up very quickly. I did Chinese in my final two years, which was more of a challenge because it has no roots in the European languages but I did it."

"Very impressive! And you did that alongside Maths, English, Science, History and Politics. You must have had no time at all!"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm just good at time management."

Narcissa chuckled. "I studied English, History and Geography myself. I could never stand languages; I found them impossible. I guess it is just something you are born with, either you have it or you don't. You evidently are gifted with the ability to speak many tongues!"

Hermione chuckled at this, indeed she did.

They continued talking until they reached the library, where Hermione decided she would read a bit. She said goodbye to Narcissa and set about choosing a good book to loose herself in.

* * *

She was reading a book about the origin of mathematics when he phone rang. She answered it, slightly annoyed at whoever had disturbed her reading.

"Hello, lass! How did yer interview go?" Seamus asked.

"Toby! It's great to hear from you. It went really well, thanks. I got the job! How are you all faring without me?"

They had agreed on using codenames via phone, in case her calls were being monitored, so she had to call him Toby.

He chuckled loudly, "Aye, yer know Danny, always finding a way ter make trouble!"

"What's he done know?" she laughed.

"Well, we had a bloody massive water fight and he managed ter soak Samara's blouse. Couldn't stop ogling her. She has a nice rack, did yer know?"

Hermione grimaced; she didn't really want to know about Ron's interest in Lavender, as it cut her deeply.

"No, I didn't know actually. Nor do I want to know, particularly. Tell me about something else please." Hermione said in a clipped voice.

"Alright! Forgot how stuck up yer really are…" he muttered before continuing, "In other news, Ginny has found a new romantic interest. By the name of Harry."

Hermione's jaw dropped open, she couldn't believe it! Then again, Ginny didn't exactly take relationships seriously; this was probably just another one of her whims. She'd be moving on in less than two weeks.

"I wasn't expecting that, but you know Ginny. She's a free spirit; the day a man is able to hold her down is the day I will admit to not knowing everything."

"Wow, yer must really mean it. But I see yer point, lass. Speaking of Ginny, she wanted me ter tell yer that if yer bin the thongs, she'll only bring more."

Hermione groaned; of course she would. The thongs and bras she had previously sneaked into Hermione's bag were already in the bin. Aside from that, she could practically hear Seamus' grin.

"I cannot believe she asked you to tell me. No doubt you'll be holding it above my head for years to come."

"Yer hit the nail on the head, lass! Yer will never forget it if I have anything ter do with it!" he chuckled boisterously and Hermione resisted the temptation to bang her head against a bookshelf.

"Can we move on, please? How is Samara, other than being soaked by Danny?"

"Aye, she's fine. Misses yer, I think. She said she'd call later but is busy studying at the moment. Which is coincidently what I should be doing. But instead yer get the joyous pleasure of me company."

"Yes, how joyous it is indeed," she muttered darkly, "why are you not studying? Your whole future may rely upon you learning the periodic table by heart."

"Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium-"

"Yes okay! I get the picture! You already know it. But can you list all known types of anteater?"

He scoffed loudly, "And do yer know that!"

"Naturally. You insult my intelligence by thinking I don't!"

He chuckled, "Only yer would that, Hermione! I wasn't aware there was more than one type of anteater. What even is an anteater?"

Hermione laughed out loud, "I miss you all so much. I don't have the opportunity to boast my knowledge at least seven times a day here. Though I did one up Lucius earlier."

"Was it by defining long words like Hippypottermonstersiskippydaliphobia?"

"It's Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia actually, and no. Just the origins of a rare saying."

"Brilliant- yer really are the brainiest brain ever ter walk this planet! Oh, Ginny wants ter say hi. I'll hand yer over. Good luck!" he chuckled at the end and Hermione scowled and braced herself.

"Hermione! Tell me you didn't throw them away!" Ginny's hysterical voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"I did Ginny, I did." Hermione said solemnly, trying not to laugh. She could see through Ginny's 'hysterical and miserable' façade any day.

"Even the red lacy ones?"

"Yes, especially the red lacy ones!"

"No!" wailed Ginny, "Do you know how hard it is to get Victoria's Secret stuff all the way out here! Damn near impossible. And it is humiliating to ask one of the drivers to go and pick up three lorry loads of lingerie! You could have at least saved them and given them back!"

Hermione snorted, "Just for you to sneak them back to me, not likely."

Instantly Ginny's hysterical façade dropped, "Damn, I was hoping tears would render you gullible. I hereby make it my personal mission in life to get you in sexy underwear at least once!"

Hermione laughed, "Fat chance Ginny, find another life goal. Now, moving on from my underwear, tell me about Harry!"

"You know Harry, what's there to tell?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Gin. I know you are seeing him."

"I'm going to kill Toby." she muttered, "It's not any permanent thing, Hermione. He just has a puppy crush on me and it is getting annoying. I want to get it out of his system. Danny's not too happy about it, me being his sister. I think he was close to punching Harry when he caught us snogging."

Hermione giggled, she would have killed to see that. "That doesn't sound like Danny; I thought his mantra was 'bros before hoes'."

"It is, he threatened to punch Harry and then congratulated him on getting some!"

Hermione shook her head. "That boy gives me whiplash, wait, did you say you got some? Tell me you didn't, Ginny that would confuse things way too much!"

Ginny scoffed, "As if! I might like flitting from boy to boy, but not for that! I like Harry, but not that much!"

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; she really didn't want to deal with inter-friendship drama. She had enough drama on her plate as it was.

"Speaking of boys," Ginny continued, "tell me all about Malfoy junior! Is he hot?"

Hermione groaned, "I knew you would ask at some point Ginny, you just can't seem to stop yourself! In answer to your question, he is hot and he asked me to invite you over at some point, he likes you."

"What!" Ginny's voice raised an octave, "How on earth do you know that?"

"I know everything. Plus he was there when you called me yesterday and he thought it was hilarious. Thanks for that, by the way Gin."

"Anytime, Hermione! I might just have to come over if he really is hot. What does he look like?"

"Tall, blond and pale."

"Hmm, not really my type. I like the darker ones. I might just have to leave him to you, Hermione. Here's what you have to do. When he's in his room, go in and-"

"Ginny, stop!" Hermione commanded hastily, she knew where this was going. "Can you please put Toby back on the phone before this conversation strays into banned territory."

"Oh," pouted Ginny, "but I was just getting started! Fine, talk to you later Hermione!"

"Bye Ginny! See you later." Hermione said, before Seamus' thick Irish accent came back.

"Red lacey ones? I might just have ter go through yer panty draw, Hermione!"

"Oh don't you start! And if you want proper lingerie look in Samara or Ginny's draws. They own the mother load of underwear."

Seamus chuckled, "Thanks for the tip, lass. Now tell me, when do yer start yer job properly?"

It was at this moment that Draco barrelled into the library, necklaces swinging from his neck, followed closely by another boy the same age as him. They stopped, panting for breath, in front of Hermione.

Raising an eyebrow at their display, Hermione said to Seamus, "I might have to call you back." She hung up cutting off Seamus' complains.

"You," announced Draco pointing a finger at her, "are my _bloody _hero!"

Hermione looked confusedly at him, causing him to sigh and run his finger through his tousled hair.

"Everybody in the kitchens was talking about it, how you stood up to father like that! 'I find myself impressed', do you not realise how rare a compliment that is and you received it on your second bloody day! You must have some serious balls to pull that stunt on him!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at his language, "I just did what I always do, spout knowledge like a fountain."

The other boy, who Hermione assumed was Blaise, laughed deeply. He was tall, taller than Draco, but he had dark hair and mocha skin. She assumed he was an Italian, and he certainly lived up to the reputation. Like Draco, he was absolutely stunning. Deep brown eyes fringed with thick black lashes appraised her, a full mouth turned up in a smirk at her. He was lean and muscular like Draco, and he carried himself with the same cocky arrogance.

"It must be a pretty large fountain, love." He chuckled. His voice was smooth, like velvety cream.

_Is there something in the water or are all the members of the aristocracy painfully good-looking?_

Draco shook his head and smiled at her, making her heart flutter. Blaise may be just as gorgeous, but he was more Ginny's type. She made a mental note to inform her friend of this latest revelation.

"Hermione, as I'm sure you've guessed, this is Blaise Zabini. Blaise, this is Hermione Rivers."

Blaise stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Pleased to meet you, Hermione. I hear you are quite the scholar; I await long conversations of the academic genre."

"Blaise is also bit of a bookworm, hates his phone," Draco interrupted, "you should get on perfectly."

"Nice to meet you Blaise. It is nice to know there is somebody else who respects the fine art of knowledge. Will you be joining our language classes?"

Blaise nodded his head, "Yeah, I'd quite like to learn French. That would mean I spoke both languages of love!" he exchanged a grin with Draco, and they seemed to be communicated silently. Hermione coughed, and they turned back to her. Blaise smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, love. Draco and I have known each other for years and we kind of know how to read each other. I hear you have a rather extensive knowledge of languages, tell me, is Italian one of them?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, but I've always wanted to learn it. I take it you know it?"

"Yes, I do. Tell you what, you teach me French and I teach you Italian. Deal?" he asked.

"Deal!" said Hermione eagerly, ignoring the sound of Draco groaning.

"Am I the only one who doesn't fancy sitting inside all day looking over verbs when we could be outside?" he moaned, poking Blaise in the side. Blaise in turn grinned like a shark and tackled him and the two began wrestling on the floor.

Hermione sighed and walked over to a bookshelf. She was used to such displays of testosterone. Usually it was her breaking Harry and Ron up, but she didn't fancy tearing apart Blaise and Draco. They had obviously been trained, and they were sparring expertly.

They obviously were getting a bit over excited, and weren't paying attention to their surroundings. They were coming closer to Hermione, and she was just about to move out the way when Draco shoved Blaise towards her to reflect a punch. That punch, however, was now aimed at her.

Acting purely on instinct she grabbed Blaise's arm before it hit her and twisted it sharply around, kicking his legs out from under him at the same time. He landed with an 'oof' on the floor, and immediately both sets of eyes were on Hermione.

She realised she was in a defensive position, with her legs braced and her arms in front of her to fight any more attacks. She immediately straightened up and smiled apologetically at Blaise.

"Sorry, didn't mean to do that. It was just you were about to punch me accidently."

They were still both looking at her with incredulous expressions, and she realised they had no idea of her… skills.

"Oh, right," she stammered, "I'm black belt in karate. Can never hurt to be prepared." She offered weakly. She knew that they knew that even if she was a black belt, she wouldn't have been able to take Blaise out with such skill and precision at such a surprise attack. Plus she didn't exactly look like the type to be able to floor a six foot three teenage boy who was also trained at fighting.

Draco shook his head in amazement, "You just keep surprising me. Sorry, by the way, for making it necessary in the first place." He smiled sheepishly.

In a daze, Blaise got up as well and chuckled ruefully. "Remind me not to upset you; you have got some serious moves! I'm sorry as well."

"It's okay," she said, "at least you didn't actually punch me, you two look like you can hold your own in a fight as well."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Well, languages aren't the only thing my Father wants me to know."

Hermione frowned lightly; she knew exactly why Lucius would want to train Draco up. Well, that explained his physique.

"We were actually just about to go into the garden to fight properly, do you want to come?" Blaise asked, gesturing to the French doors leading into the garden.

She nodded and followed them out into the garden with a book. She knew she couldn't join in if she didn't want the true extent of her talents to be discovered.

She chose to sit under a tree and watch them fight properly, trying very hard to ignore the way their shirts stuck to their skin showing every hard line of muscle in their stomachs…

Instead she focused on their fighting techniques. Whilst she had to rely on speed, they could afford to rely on brute strength. This didn't mean that they weren't incredibly fast, however. Observing their talent, Hermione could easily say their skillset was level with, if not surpassed, that of some of the boys back at Hogwarts.

"Hermione!" Draco yelled, running over. "Do you want to try?"

She sighed but nodded, the temptation to properly spar was too great.

Readying herself, she scowled at the next words out of Draco's mouth. "Don't worry; I'll go easy on you."

Secrecy be damned, she was not going to let that one slip. She motioned for Draco to attack her, and he did, however slower than he had with Blaise.

Scowling harder she decided he needed a good lesson. In five seconds flat he was on the floor groaning in pain. Blaise was also on the floor, bellowing with laughter. "You might not want to go easy on her next time mate; I said you should avoid making her angry!"

Draco scowled and leapt up, readying himself for another fight. "This time I'm not going easy on you, princess!"

Hermione smiled sweetly at him, "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

They sparred for a good five minutes before Draco's height meant he could restrain her, holding her arms behind her back with one hand with his other arm around her shoulders.

"Caught you." He grinned in her ear.

"Yes you did. What are you going to do to me now?" She whispered in a sultry tone to him.

She used his secondary astonishment to head butt him in the chin, causing him to let go of her. She used the opportunity to floor him completely.

He groaned and banged his head back on the ground. "I cannot believe I fell for that one!" he muttered in anger.

Blaise was giggling like a little girl at him. "Serves you right, mate."

"Do you want a go, Blaise?" Draco challenged him.

"No," said Hermione, "I'm tired now. You two continue."

She spent the remainder of the morning reading, pausing for a few minutes to admire Draco when he took his shirt off due to the heat. Blushing slightly she buried her nose in her book. She could not afford to get attached to any of them. No matter how good they looked shirtless…

* * *

**They do look good shirtless… *clears throat* anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed!;D By the way, I'm not sure whether or not to continue my other 'serious' story, the water's sweet but blood is thicker. Please tell me if you guys want me to continue it, if I get more than five people telling me to carry on then I shall. If not then I shall delete it, I think. Anyways, please leave me a review or a PM, I will reply to any and all PMs because I'm a nice person;P Please also feel free to constructively criticise, I am always looking to improve my writing. **

**GoldieXx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Um, still no song requests, *cough,awkward,cough*, so please please please could you recommend some songs for me. For now, just listen to Viva la Vida by Coldplay because it's my favourite song ever. Thanks to Malibu Baybreeze, I know you are looking forward to the plot unfurling its lovely petals, so just hang in there! Because I have got a hell of a plot planned out. If you look carefully in this chapter, very carefully, you might find some hints. This chapter is in Blaise's POV, and I am very much looking forward to you all meeting the new character in this chapter, it's going to get exciting! Please leave a review or PM me or something, and I hope you enjoy the story! BTW, there are some dark bits coming up.**

* * *

_Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep_

Blaise was woken suddenly by the harsh blaring of his alarm clock. Grunting, he rolled over and buried his head in his pillow, wishing the alarm clock would spontaneously combust. When logic returned to his sleep-addled brain, he realised that this was not going to happen.

He turned over and slammed his fist down on the offending alarm, causing it to fall over. He swiftly buried himself down into the duvet once more and tried to return to sleep. The only consolation was that he knew Draco would be going through this as well.

Ten minutes, Blaise had almost succeeded into falling back to sleep when loud barking woke him up again.

_Damn, I forgot Lucius' habit of ensuring Draco got up._

Lucius owned several hounds, more like wolves really, that he would take around the estate on horseback to exercise. Before that, though, his two favourites were trained to run up and down Draco and Blaise's corridor barking their heads off.

They were called Perseus and Hercules after Greek demigods, and they were very ferocious indeed. Not to people they knew- they were like kittens to people they liked. No, it was strangers and intruders that they turned on, transforming into ferocious wolves.

They were massive, bigger than ordinary wolves with russet fur and green eyes. They were an exclusive breed to the Malfoys, bred to be hunters, guards, protectors and friends. They both liked Blaise, and he liked them.

He thought of Hermione, and wondered if she would like them. She probably would, but she seemed more like a cat person. She would soon meet them.

He lay staring at the ceiling, listening to the barking. Suddenly it changed to menacing growling which was accompanied by a startled feminine shriek.

"Shit!" Blaise swore and leapt out of bed. Perseus and Hercules had not yet met Hermione, meaning that they would treat her as a criminal.

Dashing into the hallway he saw a terrified Hermione backed into the wall staring at the two massive dogs that came up to her waist. She was in a defensive position, but karate wouldn't do much good against two wolf-dogs trained to kill.

"Hercules! Perseus!" he yelled at them, "Sit you bloody hounds!"

They immediately turned to Blaise and sat down, wagging their tales. Blaise smiled apologetically at Hermione.

"Guess you haven't been properly introduced to the beasts; sorry about that."

Hermione let out a breath and eyed the dogs cautiously. "They won't do that again, will they?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nah, we just have to show them you are part of the 'pack'. Approach me slowly."

She did as she was told, edging carefully around the two dogs who were growling low at her. When she reached Blaise, he held his hand out to her.

"Shake it firmly, that will show them you aren't a threat. Then hold a hand out palm up for them to sniff, they should be fine after that."

She nodded and shook his hand, and then held her hand out cautiously for the dogs to sniff. They did, and then they had they looked up at her with wagging tails and tongues lolling out of their mouths in doggy grins.

Blaise chuckled, "They go from puppies to wolves in an instant! That one with the white-tipped tail is Hercules and the one with the black-tipped ear is Perseus. Boys, this is Hermione." He said, gesturing to her.

They looked at him with such seriousness in their eyes that Blaise heard Hermione giggle and reach out to pat them on the head. "Do you like dogs?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, "but I prefer cats to be honest. But I still think dogs are interesting. What breed are these?"

"They are a mix of wolf, Alsatian, Collie and some other things. They have been bred for centuries and are unique to the Malfoys. They are used for hunting and guarding mostly, but I think Lucius likes the 'manliness' of owning them. Where is he anyway?" he asked, turning his head around. Lucius should have taken them out by now.

"Don't know," replied Hermione, "but it would have been nice of him to warn me in advance about those brutes; they nearly scared me to death with all their barking!"

"They're trained to do that, it's to make sure Draco and I get up. Doesn't usually work, If I hadn't heard you I would have probably gone back to sleep!"

Hermione smiled shyly, "Thanks, by the way, I have no experience with dogs!"

Blaise grinned at her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "No problem! Come on; let's enlist their help getting Draco up!"

He led them to Draco's door, motioning for them to be very quiet. With an evil grin, he told Hermione his master plan. "Okay, here's what we will do. I will open the door very slowly whilst you hold the dog's collars. When I tell you to, release them!"

Hermione nodded and held on tightly to their collars watching as Blaise edged the door open. The room was dark and he could just make out the shape of a person in the bed.

"Okay… Now!" he whispered and Hermione released the hounds. They immediately sprinted into the room yapping and leapt on the bed. There was a startled shriek and the sound of a body hitting the floor with a thump.

Blaise and Hermione ran to the side of the bed to see a very astonished Draco twisted in his sheets on the floor with two massive dogs clambering all over him.

"Bloody hell Zabini! Do you want to give me a heart attack?" Draco yelled shoving the dogs off of him and struggling to stand up. Blaise grinned at him.

"Come on Malfoy, it was bloody funny! Look, even Hermione is laughing!"

It was true; she was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. Under an angry gaze from Draco, she gave an awkward cough. "Sorry, but that shriek should have been caught on camera!"

He glared at her even more furiously, causing Blaise to chuckle. His friend was too easy to rile up. "The whole 'angry stare' thing doesn't very well work with hair like that, Malfoy."

Draco's appearance was very disgruntled; he was bare-chested with a pair of rumpled black slacks and his hair was sticking out at very odd angles.

"What I want to know," Blaise continued, "is how someone with such carefully done hair during the day can have bed hair like that!"

"Piss off, Zabini!" Draco grumbled, shoving Perseus to the side.

"It's not nearly as bad as my bed hair," Hermione said, "it looks like bed hair during the day!"

"True, but it suits you. Malfoy here looks ridiculous with even a single hair out of place. What I really wish to see, though, is Lucius with bed hair!"

They all giggled at the mental image of the cool, composed man with messy.

Walking over to the curtains and yanking them open, Draco spoke, "I'm his son, and even I don't know what it looks like! Would give away everything to see it, though."

"It has to be hereditary; maybe we should hide a camera in your parents' room and see!" Blaise sniggered, turning to Hermione. "What about you, Hermione? Did that monster on top of your head come from your Mum or Dad?"

Hermione suddenly stiffened and stopped laughing, looking as if she was deep in thought. "My Mum or Dad," she echoed softly. Blaise looked at Draco seeing if he knew what was going on, but he just shrugged. Blaise realised he must have struck a nerve and he quickly tried to smooth it over.

"Wouldn't be surprised if it came from a caveman! Do you even use conditioner?" he teased her lightly, hoping that she wasn't too upset.

She snapped out of her quiet demeanour and mock-frowned at him, "Of course I do! And you, Blaise Zabini, are the only caveman here! Now, before I was so rudely interrupted by those wolves, I was on my way to the library. I think I shall go there now. I'll see you later."

She walked towards the door, but briefly turned back; "Oh, and Draco, put a shirt on." She left.

Draco chuckled lowly, "You do realise, Zabini, that by 'put a shirt on' she was really complimenting my excellent physique!" he puffed his chest out and smirked at Blaise.

Blaise rolled his eyes and chucked a pillow at his friend. "We might have to buy your ego some bigger clothes, it really is getting fat!" Blaise dodged a pillow flying at his head and put his hands up in defence.

"Alright, alright! I take it back!" he said.

"Seriously, though," Draco said pulling on a shirt, "does anything about Hermione strike you as suspicious?"

Blaise shrugged, "No, not really, what makes you think that?"

Draco frowned and chewed his lip in thought, "She has first-rate fighting skills, she knows multiple languages, she has a glowing report from Beauxbatons and she won against my father in a battle of wits. She just seems too perfect. And she clammed up when you mentioned her parents, what's that about?"

Blaise shook his head; the only other competent female Draco knew was his mother. "I think you're over-thinking it, mate. She might just be a bit of an over-achiever. As for her parents, both of us know what family problems are like. What makes her any different?"

Sitting down in a chair, Draco rubbed his chin in thought, "I was always taught not to trust the perfect; it's always too good to be true. She's smart, pretty, witty and knows how to hold her own in a fight."

"Same could be said for you, Malfoy. You're so pretty, your identical twin is Barbie."

"Poor, Zabini, I expect better insults than that."

"Seriously though, she's everything you are in a slightly smaller package. You just don't know 'ideal' comes in female packages as the only other females you know are silly air-heads."

Draco snorted, "True. I guess you're right about Hermione. If you think she's so 'ideal' why don't you make a move on her?"

Blaise chuckled and threw a pillow at him, which he swiftly returned. "I knew this would creep into the conversation at some point. She's not really my type; I prefer the real firecrackers. She strikes me as more your type, why don't you make a move?"

"She is a firecracker, she just downplays it. And as for making a move, I have a girlfriend remember!"

Blaise scrunched his nose in distaste, "Pansy isn't a girlfriend, she's an accessory your Dad picked out for you. All boobs and no brains."

"Boobs are good…" Draco defended weakly, causing Blaise to snort.

"Please, we both know you despise Pansy. She does have a nice rack, but she has no idea how to use it tastefully. The whole thrusting her nipples out in a tiny top is hot for about five minutes, and then it just looks cheap. I have more taste than that Draco; I like a woman who manages to be subtle. So do you."

Draco shook his head, "You know me better than I know myself. For a girl with high breeding, you would think she had some classiness."

"Tell me about it, it's like she were a common whore."

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"No, of course I don't."

"So you won't be too mad if I say she's coming later for afternoon tea?"

Blaise groaned and sat down, shoving his head in his hands. His day was looking very bleak indeed. Why Draco didn't just ditch Pansy, he really didn't know.

"Why?" he mumbled, glaring at Draco.

"I didn't know what to expect with the whole tutor thing. If it ended up being somebody awful; a quick shag might have helped ease the frustration. Wasn't expecting Hermione to be so… well, _good_."

Blaise sniggered, "Bet you're really regretting inviting Pansy over!"

"Piss off, Zabini!"

* * *

Blaise was walking down the hall to the library after having gone riding with Draco. He planned to do some reading before Hermione's lessons started, maybe that would help take his mind off of Pansy.

He remembered Draco's suspicions of Hermione, and somehow they were making a bit more sense to him now. It was odd how she had gone all quiet when he had mentioned her parents. It was similar to how he reacted when asked about his parents.

He suddenly stopped, realisation hitting him like a ton of bricks. Could it be possible that he and Hermione shared a, _similar_, background?

When Blaise was about seven, eleven years ago, his father suddenly became abusive and cruel towards his mother. The screaming would keep him up for hours at night, and only when he heard the slamming of the front door would he go to his mother.

She was always curled up in a ball on the floor, surrounded with blood, glass and ripped clothing. He would always hold her close, silently promising that one day he would do something about it. He couldn't have called the police, as his father was in not-so-legal job and if he went down; he would have taken his mother down as well.

He tried to stop him when he was nine. The screaming was louder than usual and he had ran into his parents' bedroom and tried to fight his father off of his mother. He was not strong enough, and he had the scars to prove it.

He decided to start training to fight; he knew Draco was as well. For years he perfected his fighting skills, until he decided he was ready.

One night when he was fourteen, just as the screaming began; he marched into the room and did what had to be done in order to save his mother. It had worked; and his mother was free.

He wondered if Hermione had been in a similar position to him, or even worse, a similar position to his mother. It would explain her fighting skills and her want to lose herself in books.

Turning around, he decided to voice his concerns to Draco.

He arrived in the living room, where Draco was, and related his worries to him in a hushed tone.

Draco frowned, and shook his head, "It would make sense, but I don't think so. I haven't seen any scars or anything on her; and she's too nice. People who have experienced abuse either become quiet and introverted or try to escape the memories by running to the four corners of the earth, like your…" Draco paused, and eyed Blaise apologetically.

Blaise painted his features into a carefully controlled mask and glared at Draco. "Like my Mother."

Since Blaise was fourteen, his mother would randomly go on a holiday for months on end without so much as leaving a note. Apart from the occasional postcard and odd birthday present; Blaise hardly ever saw his mother.

"I think it's a bit of an extreme theory, mate. I can see why you would think that, but I don't think it really fits."

Blaise nodded, "I suppose you're right, but let's just be careful what we say to her.

"Agreed. Why don't we go-" Draco was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"Shit," he swore, "that'll be Pansy. Bloody hell, she has to be _three hours _early, we're about to start lessons! Talk about pushy…" he grumbled getting up.

"Well, you must lie in the bed you made!" Blaise grinned, causing Draco to punch him in the arm rather hard.

"Drakey-poooooo!" a shrill voice shrieked from the hall, causing Draco to cringe and swear again. Blaise smirked and followed Draco into the hall where Pansy was waiting.

She was wearing an impossibly short skirt with knee-high white socks and black stilettos. Her top consisted of a strip of fabric across her breasts with see-through lace barely covering her midriff. The neckline plunged so low it basically wasn't there at all, showing off her cleavage. She was wearing tonnes of eyeliner and red lipstick and a silly blue bow in her hair.

"Draco!" she cooed, tottering towards him in her heels. Draco looked like he was going to step back, so Blaise gave him a 'friendly' shove forward.

"Bastard!" he heard Draco mutter under his breath.

"Draco," Pansy simpered, "doesn't this skirt simply look _fabulous_? I bought it just for you yesterday, along with the heels. Tell me I look gorgeous! Because I do, don't I Blaise darling?" she said, winking at Blaise causing him to retch a little bit.

"Anyway, I was thinking we could, you know," she said trailing a finger across his chest, "go somewhere a little more private to… _who _is _that_?" she asked, sounding disgusted.

Both boys turned to see Hermione standing with an expression of shock on her face. Draco took the opportunity to leap way from Pansy.

"Are you cheating on me, Draco?" Pansy blubbed, "How could you? After everything I've done for you!" a few fat tears rolled down her chubby cheeks and she fanned her face dramatically.

"Calm down, Pansy," Draco snapped, "this is my new tutor, Hermione. Hermione, this is my girlfriend Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione stared at him incredulously. "That's your girlfriend?"

Pansy scowled, all tears gone, and stalked up to Hermione. "What do you mean by that?"

"I simply though Draco's girlfriend would have a little more, well, _elegance_."

Blaise snorted with laughter at Hermione's bluntness, Draco stared at her in pleased shock, and Pansy looked ready to explode.

"Excuse me, but I happen to be a very high-class lady with all the beauty, style and sophistication in the world! My looks far excel yours, with your bushy hair and raggedy jumper; you look like a common street rat! I will not have some little bitch low-life tell me I have no elegance! Draco, defend me!" she sighed dramatically like a very over-dramatic damsel in distress.

All throughout her rant, Hermione stared at her with amusement. "Did you hurt yourself, using words longer than two syllables?"

Pansy gasped and went red with fury. "How dare you insult me like that! I bet you don't know any long words!"

"Hippopotamonstrosisquipadaliophobia, something you probably have." Hermione responded easily. Blaise couldn't help but marvel at how cool and collected she was compared to Pansy. It was certainly much more attractive, and he could see Draco though the same.

"You just made that up, it isn't a real word!" Pansy yelled.

"Sure it is, it means having a fear of long words."

Pansy sneered and looked at her nails, "Just as I thought, all you can do is spout facts. Do you think any boy will ever like that?"

Blaise heard Draco cough slightly, and saw him subtly raise his hand behind Pansy's back. Apparently Hermione saw as well, because she laughed out loud.

"I wouldn't ask that question Pansy; I think the answer might surprise you."

Pansy scowled deeply, "I highly doubt that, little miss ugly, I highly doubt that!" She flounced towards Draco, leaving Hermione smirking behind her.

Blaise chuckled deeply, Hermione really was witty. Judging by the look on Pansy's face, she clearly thought she had won but everyone else in the room knew that Hermione was the real victor. Apart from Pansy herself, of course.

"Draco, darling, should we go upstairs?" Pansy asked coyly, winding her arms around Draco's shoulders.

"Actually," Draco said slipping out from under her arms, "I'm supposed to start my lessons now. You should probably go."

"What lessons?" Complained Pansy, stomping her foot. Blaise could see that there was a full blown temper tantrum in the imminent future. Sighing, he decided that it was time to take control of the situation.

"Pansy, I need to talk with you for a moment, it's important. Can you come with me please?" he asked.

Pansy seemed to consider it for a moment, but then nodded. "Fine, but it better be good."

As Blaise was leading Pansy out of the room, Draco leaned in, "Thanks mate, she was close to blowing there." Blaise rolled his eyes at his friend, "You owe me big, Malfoy!" he hissed, and then proceeded to lead Pansy out of the room. He needed to think of a subject fast, if he didn't and Pansy threw a tantrum then Draco would have hell to pay.

He led Pansy into one of the sitting rooms, and she spread herself out on one of the sofas, patting next to her for Blaise to join her. He decided he would prefer to stand.

"So, what is so important?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Blaise racked his brains for something to say.

"Um, well, it's actually about Draco." He stuttered, not entirely sure where he was going with that.

"What about him?" she asked calmly, although he could detect the hint of a threat in her voice. He wasn't scared of her particularly, but if he was going to get out of this alive he knew that his only option was flattery.

"Well, you see, I think that Hermione might actually like him a bit, and might try to make a move on him. H would definitely choose you because we all know you're prettier, but we should probably nip this potential competition in the bud before it blooms." He was lying through his teeth and he knew it, but this was his only option.

This could actually turn out in his favour, if he played his cards right. If he could become an 'insider' with Pansy, he could figure out how to break them up. Heaven knows both he and Draco hated her, but Lucius and chosen her for Draco and he didn't want to argue with his Father.

"Hmm, I think you may be right Blaise. That little know-it-all was far too bold. We should definitely put that little bitch in her place, what do you suppose we do?"

Blaise cringed at her predatory tone. Sure, he was manipulative and cunning as well, but unlike Pansy he tended to resist evil scheming. Draco wasn't opposed to plotting; but Blaise kept it to a minimum.

"Sabotage, I think. Make her look bad in front of Draco." He said, making a mental note to warn both Draco and Hermione about this. If they all knew about it they could work together.

"I like it. You know, Draco has a cunning side too," she purred, getting up and walking towards him, "but he so rarely shares it with me. And plotting is so fun as well." He pouted, running her hands over his chest. Blaise nearly threw up in his mouth. Forget Draco having hell to pay; he owed Blaise the whole bloody universe now.

"I think you and I are much more alike, think of all the fun we could have together, Blaise." She said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. Blaise resisted snorting, out of Draco and him Draco was the cunning one. And as for 'having fun' with Pansy; he would rather sleep with a vulture.

"No," he said firmly, "I have Draco's best interests at heart and I wouldn't betray him like that. Sorry."

Pansy sighed, "Shame, but oh well. What should we do with that Hermione slut then?"

"Why don't you go home now, whilst I find out exactly what her intentions are. When I have more information, I'll call you. Deal?"

Pansy grinned, and Blaise thought it would be how a snake would grin to a mouse. "Deal, I look forward to our future encounters, Blaise."

"Likewise. See you later." He said, seeing her out of the Manor. Before she left, she turned and kissed him right on the lips before winking and sashaying of to her red convertible.

* * *

"Draco _fucking _Malfoy, you owe me so much I'll still be collecting when you are dead and underground!" Blaise bellowed, stomping into the library. Both Hermione and Draco looked up from the table, but where Hermione was grimacing at his foul language Draco was grinning like a wolf.

"What happened, Zabini?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"To cut a long story short; she now thinks I'm plotting with her to publicly humiliate Hermione for trying it on with you, and then the bloody little slut tried it on with me! She fucking _kissed_ me, Malfoy!"

Amidst Draco's roars of laughter, Blaise heard Hermione ask "Publicly humiliate me? What did I ever do to you, Blaise?" she said sarcastically.

"Nothing, I'm not actually going to let her do anything. It's just a cover for my real plan to split her and Draco up. Neither of us can stand the little cow."

Suddenly Draco went serious. "We've discussed this, Blaise. I can't break up with her because of my bloody Father."

"Yes, but she can still break up with you. Come on, mate. You can do so much better than her!" he pleaded.

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to Hermione. "What do you think, Rivers?"

Hermione shrugged and glared at Blaise, "As long as there is no publicly humiliating me, I'm fine with getting rid of her. Just don't _do _anything to her; I don't want a murder on my hands."

Draco sighed, "Alright Blaise, get her to break up with me. But jut be warned, if she has set her sights on you; then she won't give up easily. Get ready for some massive advances and some tiny clothes!"

Hermione snorted, "I would expect that your father would have chosen someone with a little more sophistication! Why'd he choose her?"

"Basically," Draco said, "about eleven years ago my Father, Blaise's father, Pansy's father and all of our friend's fathers suddenly got really close. It was weird, because they all changed as well. Some of them became alcoholic and abusive, and some became quite cold and detached. My Father was amongst the latter. None of us know why"

Hermione paled slightly, "Wait, did you say eleven years ago? They suddenly without reason became abusive?"

Draco nodded, but Blaise knew he was lying about them having no idea why. Both he and Draco knew exactly why, but they couldn't exactly tell Hermione that particular secret.

Seeing as the mood was rather sombre; Blaise decided to change the subject. "So, what language are we learning first?"

"French," replied Hermione, "so that both you and Draco can learn it at the same time."

Blaise nodded and joined them at the table. Hermione handed him a sheet with lots of verbs on it. "There are three main verb structures, the ER, the IR and the RE verbs. Those are listed there. Basically any verb with any one of those endings follows those particular endings. The rest are the irregulars, I want you to learn them as quickly as possible."

Both boys nodded, and Hermione continued. "Good, now as for the regular verb stems I prepared this sheet of all the most common ones…"

XXX

Blaise stretched out on Draco's bed and sighed deeply. They had just finished lessons for that day and since it was a Wednesday they had to go to supper in formal clothes. They had a few hours before that, though.

Draco dropped all of his books on his desk loudly, causing Blaise to jump and scowl. "Take it easy, mate, don't break the desk!"

Draco grinned apologetically. "Sorry, my brain is just slightly frazzled after that. She doesn't do things half way, does she?"

"Nope," Blaise agreed, "and you have to learn three languages from her, good luck mate."

"Why does my Father even want me to learn all those languages anyway?" asked Draco, plonking himself down on a chair.

Blaise sighed again, this time sorrowfully. "You know why, Draco. I expect it's for the same reason you were trained like and assassin and had one of the best businessmen in the world tutor you. If my father were still alive, he would probably have me on a similar course to you."

"You really think he's going to force me to work for… _them_?"

"I'm afraid so, mate. You know too much about it to do something else, they would have to erase your memories if you did. I somehow think that killing you would be easier, though." Blaise said, looking at his friend.

"I envy Hermione, you know. I bet she has loving supporting parents who tell her she can be anything she wants to be. She's not forced into a life of crime, she has a choice."

"If it's any consolation, they'll want me as well." Said Blaise, "They demand employing the children of current members, it's basically guaranteed loyalty. Remember that Mark bloke who wouldn't hand over his child; he got punished quite badly. If you try to run, the same could happen to Lucius."

Draco nodded, "Yeah, but it's not particularly my Father I would be worried about. It's more my Mother, I couldn't let anything happen to her. Just like you, I feel I have to protect her. Father just shows cold indifference to both of us."

Blaise blanched slightly at the mention of his mother. This was dangerous territory for him, and he decided swiftly to change the topic.

"Anyway, what are you wearing to dinner?"

Draco laughed loudly, "You sound like Pansy, obsessed with clothes. Just trousers, a shirt and a tie. No offense, mate, but if you want to talk clothes go and find Hermione. Though I doubt she cares much for that, either."

"True," Blaise agreed, "I think she'd prefer talking about books."

Draco chuckled and started tossing a rugby ball up in the air. "What do you want to do? Maybe we could practice fencing?"

Blaise nodded, "Yeah, alright. Let me just grab some sports clothes."

After they had trained, they grabbed some swords from the weapons room and made their way outside. They were just walking down the path to the field when they bumped into Narcissa. She smiled lightly at them, "Hello, boys. Are you going to do some sword fighting?"

At their eager nods, she chuckled. "Just be careful; I want both of you all in one piece for dinner. I don't want you to be late either, so watch the time, okay? And remember it's formal dress, so please wear something smart!"

Blaise aw Draco roll his eyes at his mother, "Yes, yes, we will. Can we go now?"

Narcissa shook her head good-naturedly, "Go on then."

As they walked out onto the field, Draco turned to Blaise, "I swear she still treats me like I'm five!" he muttered. "True, but in many ways you are." Blaise replied.

"En guarde, my friend, in both meanings of the phrase!"

For an hour they sparred until they were both thoroughly exhausted and covered in tiny scratches and bruises, but otherwise alright.

"Whew," said Draco, "I need a shower! And so do you, come on."

They walked back to their separate rooms, bantering happily. Before they reached their rooms, however, they passed Hermione's room where she was talking on the phone to somebody.

"Come on!" hissed Draco, "Let's see what she is saying!"

Blaise sighed but leant his head against the door with Draco, where they heard a one sided conversation between Hermione and one of her friends.

"…that's good…umhm…Yeah, I know…So, how's Danny?...I am so not obsessive!...You couldn't be more wrong…No, Ginny, no don't jump to conclusions…Don't you dare…Fine! I like him, okay? Happy now?…No he doesn't…How can my love life be better than yours if I don't even have one?...Oh, I'm sorry, I thought Harry really liked you…Might be a problem considering I'm here…No, Ginny, I haven't even been here for three full days!...Please don't guilt trip me…Fine, I'll ask. But you owe me…Yep…You too. Bye."

They pulled away from the doorway as she stopped talking. Draco turned to Blaise, "Alright, so she like a boy called Danny, her friend Ginny obviously had some love issues with I guy called Harry and wants to come over. This Ginny is also obviously a really sassy firecracker who likes getting her own way but she is very loyal to those she considers her friends and would do anything for them. Kind of like you, really."

Blaise raised his eyebrows; sometimes he forgot how perceptive his friend was. "And you got all of that from loose snippets of a conversation? And since when was I a sassy firecracker?"

Draco laughed and pulled Blaise down into a head-lock, "You can definitely be sassy when you want to be, and as for being a firecracker you like your girls to be firecrackers. I imagine Hermione and I might have to do some match-making!"

Struggling, Blaise managed to escape from Draco's arm, "Just you try, you git. Just you try! Anyway; you're the sassy one, not me! You can be like a little princess who's lost her tiara!" Blaise grinned, and took off running just as Draco aimed to clobber him.

"I'll get you for that, you bloody git!" Draco hollered. Blaise grinned like a shark, game on!

* * *

"Should we escort Hermione to the dining hall? I don't think she knows the way." Asked Draco, as they lounged in his room.

Blaise shrugged, "Sure, we'll pick her up on the way there."

They were both dressed nicely ready for dinner. Blaise had opted for black trousers and jacket with a white shirt and emerald tie. Draco had gone for exactly the same only his shirt was a dark green and he had decided to forgo a tie and instead had the top couple of buttons undone to reveal his signature necklaces.

Blaise was busy massaging his knee, as he had fallen straight on it when Draco had eventually caught and tackled him. To be fair; he had almost given Draco a black eye. They were both constantly covered in bruises and scrapes, so it wasn't that big a deal.

Suddenly, Blaise's phone rang from inside his jacket pocket. He groaned when he saw the caller ID: Pansy, but then smirked when he saw the photo he had registered for her name: an overweight pug.

"Pansy," He greeted through gnashing teeth, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he saw Draco silently laughing and fought the urge to actually give him a black eye.

"Blaise, what have you found out about that Rivers girl? Has she made any moves on Draco?" she asked in her nasally voice.

"Unless the teachings of French verbs are to be considered sexual: no. You'll have to give me more time, Pansy." The woman really was insufferable; they only decided on this a couple of hours ago!

"I've given you plenty of time, Blaise. I want you to find her weaknesses. Next time I call, I expect results!" she demanded. Blaise gritted his teeth, "Goodbye, Pansy."

"Oh, and Blaise," she added in a sultry voice, "think about my offer. I think you would find me highly… satisfactory. Goodbye."

"When hell freezes over," Blaise muttered as he chucked his phone on the bed, "twice!"

Draco laughed, "I warned you about her advances; this wouldn't be the first time she's attempted to cheat on me. Many times, she's succeeded."

Blaise looked at Draco incredulously, "If you know she's cheated on you, mate, break up with her!"

"Can't, Father would skin me."

"Then I think it's high time that you stuck the middle finger up at that old coot and get with a girl you actually like. Pansy probably doesn't even like you; why not just go behind her back? I highly doubt she would care."

Draco squeezed the bridge of his nose, "Would you do that to a woman? Even one as annoying as Pansy?"

Blaise sighed, he was absolutely right. Even if their fathers hadn't taken the time to raise them properly, their mothers had. And both of those women had drummed it into them to respect any and all women.

"I guess you have a point, mate. But it still doesn't stop the fact that Pansy is a heinous bitch!"

Draco laughed humourlessly and got up. "I suppose we should go to dinner. Come on, let's go get Hermione."

They met Hermione on the way to her room; she had apparently come to ask them the way. Blaise had to admit she looked lovely. She was wearing a pink sleeveless skater dress with a lacy décolletage and a white satin bow around her middle. She had white ballet flats and she had curled her hair nicely so it hung in smooth ringlets around her shoulders. A white flower with pink tips was pinning it up at the back in a half-do. She was wearing light, natural make-up that enhanced her natural beauty instead of covering it. All in all, she looked very pretty.

He noticed that apparently Draco thought the same, as he heard him gulp. Blaise grinned; whilst Hermione was pretty she wasn't his type. Draco however…

"Oh, good, it's you two." She said, nodding towards them, "I was just coming to ask you the way, but we can walk together now."

"Sure," said Draco linking her arm in his, "wouldn't want you getting lost."

Blaise chuckled, Hermione was exactly Draco's type; but Draco was a stubborn git. If he felt like he was being pressured towards an opinion or emotion, he would refuse to go along with it. Blaise shook his head; he knew Draco would have to figure it out for himself.

Blaise linked his arm through Hermione's other arm and the three made their way towards the dining room. Before they actually entered Blaise noticed Draco subtly unlinking his arm from Hermione's; he didn't want his father to see.

As they walked into the room, Lucius nodded appraisingly at Blaise and Hermione's dress choice; but thinned his lips a bit at Draco's more casual option. He didn't bother commenting though; some battles weren't worth fighting.

Supper was a nice enough affair, Blaise thought, with the exception of an argument between himself and Draco about football. Football had always been a sore topic between them, as Draco was a staunch fan of Manchester United whilst Blaise loved Chelsea. It had ended when Hermione had yelled that rugby won against football any day and they should shut up. It then turned to a conversation between Lucius and Hermione about which rugby team was the best.

After dinner, Blaise and Draco walked Hermione back to her room.

"Goodnight, guys, see you tomorrow." She said.

"Okay, just one second," Draco said, "if you had to choose between Man United and Chelsea, who would you choose? My entire friendship with you is riding on this."

Hermione grinned, "Arsenal."

"Well, it's better than saying Chelsea." Draco shrugged, "Goodnight, Hermione."

She was just about to shut the door when Draco stopped her, "One more thing Rivers, you don't look entirely terrible tonight."

"Thanks?" Hermione asked, as she watched him walk down the corridor and around the corner. Blaise chuckled; Draco really was a slimy git.

He turned to Hermione, "By the way, 'not entirely terrible' is boy-ish for 'totally hot'."

Hermione blushed slightly, "Thanks, Blaise. Don't tell Draco, but Chelsea is actually better." She closed the door whilst Blaise was doing a silent celebratory dance.

He whistled as he walked to his room, in a very good mood. When he went into his room he saw Draco sitting on a chair massaging his temples.

"What's up, mate?" Blaise asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.

"It's Hermione, after seeing her tonight I think I like her a bit too much, do you know what I mean?"

Blaise grinned like a shark, "I knew it. I just knew it! Why don't you ask her out?"

"Chill, Zabini, I've only known her for a couple of days. And anyway, I'm dating Pansy bloody Parkinson because my git of a Father can't understand that I would actually like to make my own choice about these kinds of things!" Draco yelled, pacing up and down his room.

"Calm down, mate." Blaise soothed, standing up and grabbing on to Draco's arm. "Just sleep it off, and we'll talk about your 'git of a father' tomorrow, okay?"

Draco nodded and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "It's a cursed life we live, Zabini. I've been forced to do and think things that aren't right. I've been trained as a bloody assassin and been taught how to brew the most dangerous drugs in the world. I can kill a man in twenty seven different ways with my hands alone and I've been trained to completely shut off my emotions. I've killed a man, Zabini, we both have. I'm a _fucking _murderer and if my father gets is way I will continue to be a murderer and a thief and hell knows what else.

"Then suddenly this girl, this happy, care-free girl full of light shows up in my life, and the feeling is indescribable. She makes me feel good, just by being in the same room. I want to share her light, but I know if I do I will eventually drain it away. I can't do that. I couldn't tell her what I am, what I will be. She would never understand."

Blaise stood with his mouth open at his friend's speech. Draco very rarely, if ever, opened up his feelings towards anybody. He had built a steel wall around his heart, and nobody so far had been able to penetrate it.

Suddenly, Blaise realised that his gentle, slightly mischievous, match-making plans between Hermione and Draco needed to change. If Hermione could make a dent in Draco's armour just by being herself, then she could achieve great things if she opened her heart to Draco.

His friend was in pain, they were both in pain, they had been exposed to a world of hate from a very young age and they couldn't escape it; not on their own. They both needed to realise that they could escape this life and live one of happiness and meaning, but neither knew how.

Blaise sighed, "Come on mate, let's get you to bed. We can focus on fighting our demons in the morning, they can wait."

"No," mumbled Draco, "We wait. That's all we ever bloody do, wait. Wait for them to blacken our souls completely and suck our happiness away. They hide, lying beneath the surface, poisoning our existence. I know what you are thinking, Blaise, don't try to set me up with Hermione. All that will happen is she will get hurt. I don't want that for her."

Blaise nodded seriously, "Alright, mate. If it's what you truly want then I won't meddle. Goodnight, Draco."

As he walked out of Draco's room, he realised that he probably didn't even have to try anything; Draco and Hermione had enough chemistry to get together on their own, however opposed to it Draco was.

Blaise knew that Draco was wrong; he wouldn't drain Hermione's light, Hermione's light would drown his darkness. Because no darkness could ever outshine the light.

* * *

**There you have it, folks! Please tell me what you think of Pansy, personally I quite like her. Well, I don't like **_**her **_**I just find her stupidness hilarious! Please recommend songs, and also any images for this story. I will accept drawn or photo edited pictures, please send them to goldensnake333 no capitals no spaces. I hope you enjoyed it! Remember, if you don't want me to delete 'the water's sweet but blood is thicker' tell me or I will get rid of it. Bye;)**

**GoldieXx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I got a song suggestion *goes and does a weird celebratory dance* and it is Settle Down by The 1975 and it was recommended by Malibu Baybreeze. Please give in your song suggestions. I got some really nice reviews so here are my responses;**

**Malibu Baybreeze: Thank you for being my first official reviewer on this story, your feedback means a lot.**

**Lakelady8425: You liked Draco's speech?! Thank you because it took me, like, FOREVER!**

**Cherryberry8: The best AU you've ever read… I think I just cried a bit;) Thank you so much and I shall try to live up to your description of me!**

**We are back to Hermione's POV and I quite like this chapter, actually. We get some more action on Hermione's mission! Please review and on with the story! I forgot to do a disclaimer last chapter so can I just say for the entire duration of this story from beginning to end I own nothing except the plot.**

* * *

The next day found Hermione looking in the library for a book on French vocab that she had found particularly useful when she was learning French. She groaned as she sifted through the endless books; it evidently wasn't there. She would have to ask Lucius if she could order it and have it delivered to the house.

Sighing, she decided to get it over and done with; she needed that book as soon as possible. She knew one of the rules was not to disturb Lucius whilst he was in his study; but it was still quite early and if she was quick she might be able to catch him coming out of breakfast.

On the way to the breakfast hall, she thought about Draco. About how he thought she looked nice last night, about how he himself looked too gorgeous for words, about how she could not let her feelings get in the way. It had only been a couple of days but she kept finding herself pulling her walls down temporarily when he was around. Keeping them up was getting exhausting.

Hermione frowned; she didn't even know why she was attracted to Draco. Sure he was funny, but it was in a sarcastic way. He was nice, but in a backward way. He was also cocky, arrogant and a complete arse at times. But Hermione knew that that wasn't what he was really like. He had carefully constructed a mask of ice and he had hidden behind it. For some reason, Hermione really wanted to melt it. She wanted to see the real Draco.

But she couldn't. She would end up breaking his heart and hers in the process.

She was so deep in thought she didn't notice Lucius walking towards her. She broke out of her reverie when he sneered at her and spoke, "Hermione, I trust you are well?"

She nodded, "Yes, thank you, Mister Malfoy. Oh, Mister Malfoy? Can I ask you something, two things actually?"

He sighed, "You can ask, Miss Rivers. Walk with me to my office."

"Okay, the first thing is that your library is lacking a particular book that I would find very helpful in the education of your son. I was wondering if it would be okay if I ordered it online and had it delivered here."

He nodded, "I can do one better than that, Miss Rivers. There is a small town with an excellent bookshop quite nearby. You could ask Draco to take you there on horseback or something and see if the shop has the books you are after. It would be helpful, though, if before you went you made a list of all the books you think you will need in the future. I shall provide the funding for any purchases made for Draco's lessons"

Hermione smiled brightly at him, a bookshop nearby! "Yes, that would be lovely, thank you so much! The other thing is that my best friend, Ginny, just broke up with her boyfriend Harry and is in need of a bit of TLC. Would it be okay if she came and stayed for a couple of days?"

Lucius shrugged "Yes if she must, as long as there are no boys and it doesn't interfere with Draco's lessons. I'll have a room prepared for her next to yours."

"Oh, that won't be necessary; she can stay in my room." Hermione said, earning herself a strange look from Lucius.

"As you wish, Hermione. Go find Draco and tell him of your trip to the town. You may do it today in lesson time."

She nodded as they reached his office, and he gestured to the same chair she had sat in during her interview. "Wait here, I just need to get something for you."

She nodded, curious as to what he was fetching for her. As he left, Hermione inspected his office. She suddenly realised she was alone in his office.

She listened for footsteps, but heard nothing. She scuttled around to the other side of his desk and tried opening some draws, but they were all locked. She looked on the desk for a key but she couldn't find one.

There were the usual things; laptop, pens, old cups of coffee and a stack of papers. Sifting through it, she only saw a load of bank statements and furniture purchases. One small square of paper floated down to her feet, and she picked it up and read it.

_25__th__ December, 8_

She frowned, and mentally catalogued the information for a later musing session. She then turned to the computer. She wouldn't have time to try and hack the password, but there could be vital information. This is where Ron would come in.

Pressing a button on the side of her spy-watch she spoke quietly. "Ron, I need a way to get all the information from a laptop without leaving a trace, preferably in twenty seconds."

The watch crackled slightly before she heard Ron's voice, "In your purse there should be a small chocolate bar. Unwrap it and you should find a USB stick. Stick that into the port and press the red button on the side. Wait until the green bar on the side is fully loaded before taking it out or it won't work and traces will be left there."

Hermione did as he said, putting the small black memory stick into the side of the computer and pressing the red button. As Ron had said, the green bar on the side started filling up, when she heard the brisk footsteps of Lucius Malfoy walking towards the office. The memory stick hadn't finished yet; Hermione didn't know what to do.

"I apologise for that, Hermione, I just needed to fetch this from my wife's office."

Hermione smiled brightly at him from her seat, clutching the finished USB stick in her palm. "That's no problem, sir."

Lucius handed her two envelopes. "Okay, this first one is your pay check for the month and this one is your funds for any equipment you may need. If it runs out, you shall be paying out of your own money."

Hermione nodded opening the envelope, gasping as she did. She highly doubted she would run out of three hundred pounds. She had a similar reaction upon opening her pay check for the month, two thousand pounds would certainly last her until next month.

"Thank you so much, sir, but is this much really necessary?" she asked him, incredulous.

Again, he looked at her like she was crazy, "This is how much I pay my regular staff, Hermione."

She nodded, remembering that he had more money than most third world countries. "Alright, thank you sir. May I go now?"

He waved a dismissive hand at her without looking up from some paperwork. "And Hermione, if this Ginny turns out to be a boy, you will be fired on the spot."

She raised an eyebrow, "Okay, sir, but last time I checked Ginny was female." She said as she walked out, shaking her head.

He really was paranoid, Hermione thought. She couldn't understand why he was so vehemently against any boys coming.

As she walked back to her room, she called Ginny. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hermione! What did he say?" Ginny immediately accosted her.

"Chill out, Ginny. He said yes, you can come as long as you aren't a boy."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry. Listen, I'm going shopping with Draco later, do you need anything?"

Hermione practically heard Ginny smirk, "So you're shopping with him already?"

She groaned, "Shut up, Ginny, we're getting supplies for his lessons. Do you need anything?"

"Are there going to be any smart occasions?"

"Yes, every Wednesday and Sunday night."

"In that case, I need a new blue maxi dress to go with my navy heels and some new brown heels to go with my spring green dress. I have some specific ones in mind, Ill text you some photos. You know my size, but they're a bit expensive."

"Don't worry, Lucius just gave me my pay check and it's like two thousand pounds."

"_Bloody hell, _Hermione! And that's just your monthly pay check! Well, you're definitely paying you lucky bitch!"

Hermione chuckled, "Yeah, alright. Text me the pictures."

"Will do, if Draco is really hot I want to dress to impress!"

"I already told you, he isn't your type. His friend Blaise, however…"

Ginny gasped loudly, "Tell all! Is he hot?"

"He's Italian; really nice, funny, about six foot four, well-built but lean, curly black hair with the face of a Greek god."

"Jesus Christ, what is it with rich people being so hot? You steer clear of him, understand? I call dibs!"

Hermione laughed out loud, "That is so you, Ginerva! Don't worry, he's all yours. He's more big-brother material for me."

"Fair enough, it sounds like that Draco guy is more your type. Speaking off, I'm texting over a couple of outfit pictures that you are buying for yourself; that pink skater dress is nice but it won't do every time. You need some more pizzazz in your wardrobe, make Draco drool."

Hermione shook her head, "You do realise he already has a girlfriend?"

Ginny groaned, "Typical, have you met her?"

"Yes."

"And? What's she like?"

"Um, well, she's…"

"For heaven's sake Hermione," Ginny scolded, "no one's going to hear you, just speak your mind!"

"Fine," Hermione huffed, "she's a heinous bitch who's plotting with Blaise to publicly embarrass me because she thinks I'm a threat."

"Bloody hell, I wasn't expecting that! I thought you said Blaise was nice?"

"He is, he did it to break up Pansy and Draco without upsetting Lucius, who chose Pansy for him. He won't actually let anything happen to me."

"Wow, I mean, just wow. Your life is actually interesting for once!"

"Shut up, Gin!"

"No, seriously," Ginny said, "it is so romantic! A boy, fated to love you, who is held back by his cruel father and made to date a hideous crone. His best friend working on the inside to get the two star-crossed lovers together; falling in love with the girl's gorgeous best friend in the process!" She sighed dramatically.

Hermione could only shake her head at her best friend, "That is a load of rubbish, Ginny!"

"Not really," defended Ginny, "at least the part about the two gorgeous best friends isn't."

Hermione laughed, "I've got to go, catch you later."

"Bye Hermione, I'm texting the pictures over now."

Hermione hung up and scrolled through the various items of clothing. She noticed she had a text from Ron.

_How are you doing?_

She knew it was code for whether or not she succeeded, so she texted back,

_Great, thanks. Everything is going well_

She shut the phone off and went to go and find Draco.

* * *

"That white on is the one you'll be riding, she's a very friendly mare called Kohinoor, Koko for short." Draco said, leading her towards a beautiful snowy white mare who snorted and rubbed her head against Draco's arm.

"Hold your hand out like this," demonstrated Draco, "let the horse sniff your hands so it trusts you."

Hermione did as he said and gently held her hand palm-up for Koko to sniff. When the horse pushed its head into her hands and snorted, she giggled and caressed its long neck.

"Blaise," called Draco over his shoulder, "would you get Vlad ready for me? I'm going to teach Hermione how to ride a horse."

Draco then led Koko over to the mounting block and gestured for Hermione to climb up.

"Okay, so, what you do is get a firm hold of the front of the saddle, swing one leg over the horse's back and make sure you do it gently. Once you're on, put your feet in the stirrups."

Hermione nodded and gracefully mounted the horse, shifting slightly to get in a more comfortable position. Draco smiled up at her. "You're a natural. To control the horse squeeze your feet slightly to get it moving, and then pull gently on the reins to stop. To turn left, pull the left rein gently and the same with the right. If you want to go into a trot, squeeze tightly and click your tongue. Practice for a bit around the paddock."

Hermione did and found that Koko was a very obedient and intelligent horse. She could sense they would be the best of friends.

Slowing down in front of Draco, she smiled at him, "Thanks, Draco. This is really fun! What's your horse like?"

Draco laughed and pointed to where Blaise was leading two massive stallions. One was white with brown patches and the other was a very dark brown, almost black, with white socks and a white star on it forehead.

Taking the reins of the dark brown horse, Draco mounted it with practiced ease.

"This is Vladimir, so named because of his grumpy disposition." He said.

Hermione laughed, "He does look like he wants to trample a bunny!"

"Don't go near him without me, Blaise or the stable-hand with you. He's not… nice to strangers. However, he is the fastest horse we have and very loyal to those he considers his friends."

"Aww, he's just a big softy!" Hermione cooed, giggling at the horse's expression.

"Oi, Malfoy! Are we taking your hell-hounds with us?" Blaise yelled from the other end of the paddock, where he had mounted the brown and white horse.

"No," Draco yelled back, "they can't go near Oberon, they really hate him for some reason."

"Oberon?" Hermione asked, "As in the King of the Fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream?"

"You know, you might be the first person who has picked up on that. Yes, it's Blaise's horse whilst he's here. Called Oberon because he likes to think he's the boss, but actually even Koko here could boss him around, all his power plans backfire."

"I take it Koko isn't a particularly high-ranking horse?" asked Hermione wryly.

Draco shrugged, "She's a pedigree horse bred for show, but we bought her to add to our collection. She's named after the largest diamond in the world, so she is obviously very valuable. All of our horses excel at something. For instance; Vlad's fast, Koko's beautiful and Oberon is strong."

"Why did you choose Koko for me?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious.

Draco seemed to think for a minute before answering, "She's intelligent, kind and beautiful. Just like you." He smirked at her and galloped out of the paddock, whistling for the dogs to follow him.

Hermione shook her head and saw Blaise trot up to her from on top of Oberon.

"Hitting on you by comparing you to a horse. That's bad even for Draco." He said, mock-seriously.

Hermione laughed, "Well she is a very nice horse. At least he didn't compare me to Vlad, if he had done that then I wouldn't have been amused."

Blaise chuckled lightly and kicked his horse into a walk. "Come on; let's go catch up with Mr Smooth." Hermione grinned and followed him out onto the fields, where Draco was strutting arrogantly from the back of Vlad.

"Hurry up, you two!" he yelled, smirking at them. "You're slower than my grandmother; my dead grandmother!"

"I'll show you slow, you git!" Blaise muttered darkly before kicking his horse into a gallop towards Draco. Draco grinned and flew off, both of them disappearing over the hill.

Hermione sighed; even on horseback they couldn't be mature. She shook her head in exasperation.

"Come on you two," she said to the dogs, "let's see if we can catch up."

She kicked Koko into a trot, following the path. She went over the small hill and saw Draco and Blaise chasing each other in circles. She went into a canter and followed the dusty path up to where Draco and Blaise would be able to hear her.

"Cut it out, guys. One of you is going to end up getting killed. And anyway, you're ruining that farmer's crops!"

"My Father owns the field and the farmer is a nice guy called Terry." Draco yelled back at her.

"Not the point, Draco!" She shouted. She was too busy glaring at him to notice a white and brown blur speeding towards the hedge. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Oberon leapt over the five-foot hedge and cleanly landed in front of her.

"Blaise! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Don't do that again; it's dangerous!" she said, trying to get her heart rate back under control.

"Come on, Hermione, that jump is barely-" he was interrupted by Vladimir leaping over the hedge and skidding to a halt in front of him.

"Barely anything." Blaise finished, glaring at Draco who just smirked back. "Oberon's cleared six foot jumps before." He bragged, stroking the horse's neck.

"Yet he still hasn't beaten me in a race!" Draco said, sitting all too mightily on top off Vladimir.

Hermione huffed, "Can you two please just go one afternoon without making everything into a stupid competition?" she asked tiredly, already knowing the answer.

As expected, they both grinned and Blaise said "Not a chance!" as Draco said "Not bloody likely!" They looked at each other, seemingly silently communicating. This wasn't the first time they had done that.

She shook her head at them, "You two could be brothers with your mannerisms and weird freaky psychic connection!"

Kicking his horse into a walk and motioning for them to do the same, Draco said "Well we practically are brothers. We've known each other from birth and have been best friends since then."

Hermione nodded, this was a fair point.

She looked happily over the quiet English countryside and revelled in the peace and quiet of the place. She could see the town about two miles from where they were; there were beautiful patchwork fields to the left and a large forest to the right. Birdsong filled the air, along with the scent of flowers, clear air and wind. The sky was a beautiful azure blue with fluffy white clouds lazing along the horizon. All in all, it was a very beautiful place.

She was broken out of her reverie by Draco, "So, what shops do you need or wish to visit?"

Hermione thought for a moment, "The book-shop, obviously, but also a stationary shop and some clothes shops."

"Clothes shops?" asked Blaise, sounding surprised, "I didn't take you for a clothes shopaholic."

Hermione grimaced and shook her head, "I'm not; but my friend Ginny is. She's coming to stay for a week or so and she asked me to buy her some new clothes. Problem is; she threatened that if I didn't buy the clothes she's picked out for me then she would send me racy underwear on a daily basis."

Both Draco and Blaise guffawed, highly amused by Hermione's unimpressed expression.

"Why is that so bad? Any guy would love to have racy underwear sent to them on a daily basis!" Blaise asked between chuckles.

Hermione sighed melodramatically, "For a mature boy, Blaise, you do have random spurts of immaturity."

"Hermione has a bad relationship with sexy lingerie," Draco grinned slyly, "when she first got her she found her friend had snuck loads of thongs into her bag. Father's face when he saw them on the fire was hilarious!"

"Ginny just can't understand that I don't like underwear like that! It's uncomfortable, but she says beauty is pain." Hermione grumbled.

"So your friend does wear sexy panties, then?" Blaise asked, winking at Draco.

Hermione groaned, "I am not obliged to answer that and quite frankly talking about this with you two is making me uncomfortable!"

"Me too!" said Draco suggestively, smirking at Hermione who turned pink.

"Alright," said Blaise, "let's move on. What does Ginny look like?"

"She's tall, taller than me, lithe, with long read hair, freckles and bright brown eyes. Her personality is completely different to mine, almost the complete opposite. She grew up with six older brothers so she's rather… out-spoken."

Draco scoffed, "Out-spoken? That's a rather annoying trait."

Hermione frowned at him disapprovingly, "She's my best friend, Draco, be nice. As for being out-spoken, she wears it well because of her confidence."

"Well, as long as she's not loud or obnoxious."

Hermione chuckled, "No, she's more the silent, powerful type. Apart from the odd cheeky comment; she does have a mischievous streak."

Draco cocked his head to the side in thought, "She's sounding more and more like Blaise. Are you after a girlfriend, mate?"

Blaise, who had been silent up until then, chuckled ruefully, "While she does sound very nice, I'm rather picky. I'd have to see her."

Draco turned to Hermione with a mischievous grin, "The fact that he's even considering her speaks volumes. You better tell Ginny to buckle up!"

Hermione giggled at Blaise's withered expression and Draco smiled at her. The sight nearly made her melt.

He almost never smiled properly; he was always either grinning or smirking. But his pure, happy smile was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. It was far nicer than Ron's. Hermione realised that she was forgetting Ron a little bit more every time she saw Draco. Ron was handsome and quite clever, but he could never hope to match up with Draco's wit, intelligence and all-round gorgeousness.

She noticed that they had been staring into each other's eyes for a while now. His eyes were amazing; they changed colour depending on his mood. When he was angry or annoyed they were a glacial blue but when he was happy they turned into warm liquid silver, with the ability to make her swoon.

They were interrupted by Blaise coughing obnoxiously, causing Draco to roll his beautiful eyes and smirk at Hermione. She gave him a small smile in return.

"Um, guys?" Blaise asked, amusement woven thick throughout his voice, "We're nearly there."

Hermione turned and sure enough they were nearly at the entrance to the town. It was more of a large village, really. The houses were small and picturesque and the streets were cobbled unevenly. Plants were everywhere; adding colour and life to the whole place. It was like a scene out of a fairy-tale.

Hermione sighed, wishing she could live in such a beautiful, peaceful place where she could read all the time. It reminded her of the village from Beauty and the Beast, which ironically made her the beautiful book-worm. She didn't want to think about who the beast was.

They trotted to the centre of the town, where there was a circular fountain with a large enough rim to sit comfortably on. To the side there were some small stables. Draco and Blaise dismounted from their horses and Draco came round to Koko's side to help Hermione down. She noticed he kept his hands on her waist for a bit too long, but he could just have been being careful.

Blaise took the horses to the stables and paid the owner before coming back.

"Right," he said, grinning, "where to first?"

* * *

"Hermione, we've been here for two bloody hours! Have you found all your books yet?" Draco asked from where he was sprawled across a chair. Blaise hummed in agreement from his lying down position.

"You can never spend too long in a book shop, guys." She said, adding a book to her already enormous pile.

"Hurry up!" Draco complained, taking no heed to her scolding. She rolled her eyes but went to pay for the various books. When she finally approached them with three full bags they leapt up, eager to go somewhere else. Draco snatched the bags off of her and Blaise practically pushed her out of the door.

"I hope to see you again, Hermione!" the bookshop owner, a kind old man, called after them.

"Should we go to a clothes shop next?" Hermione asked, blinking innocently at the two boys. They both groaned, causing her to sigh.

"Where do you want to go, then?" she asked, exasperated.

"Home." Said Draco at the same time Blaise said "Sports shop." Hermione giggled at them both.

"We can't go home just yet, so you'll have to put up with a sports shop Draco. You go there, whilst I go clothes shopping. Where exactly is the shop?" she asked. They pointed her towards a rather large shop with mannequins on display.

"Thanks," she said, "see you later!"

"Don't go anywhere else!" called Draco, "Don't talk to strangers either! And if a boy hits on you, I will punch his lights out!"

Hermione rolled her eyes; it was as if he was her boyfriend. Apparently Blaise thought the same, because he dragged Draco in the opposite direction. "Come on now, she's a big grown up girl! She can take care of herself!"

Hermione giggled and entered the shop. Immediately she was greeted by a chirpy sales assistant.

"Hello, my name's Miranda," the young blond smiled, "can I help you at all?"

Hermione smiled gratefully at her, "Yes, thank you. I've been instructed by my friend to buy some very specific clothes, could you please help me find them?"

Miranda grinned, "Sure! If I could just see the pictures, please."

Hermione handed Miranda her phone, and after flicking through them all, Miranda nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure this can be managed. If you would like to follow me."

Over the next hour they gathered the various dresses, skirts and shoes. Some they were able to find an identical match, but failing that Hermione got the most similar thing. By the end she had also been convinced into buying a white sundress with a cherry print and a green jumper-dress with a picture of a deer on it.

As she paid, she smiled at Miranda, "Thank you so much for all your help; it would have been a much harder task on my own. I wonder if you could do me one more favour?"

Miranda nodded enthusiastically, "Sure! What do you need?"

"Well, I noticed a nice jewellery shop across the road, and I would quite like to browse in there for some matching accessories. The only thing is I promised to meet my two friends here, would you mind telling them where I am?"

Miranda nodded, "That's fine, what do they look like?"

"They're both boys, about six foot three; one with ash blond hair and the other is an Italian. They're called Blaise and Draco, and they are pretty hard to miss. You'll know them when you see them."

"Will do." Miranda chirped, and Hermione grinned gratefully at her. "Thank you so much, here is a tip for your help."

She handed her a twenty pound note and Miranda accepted it with wide eyes.

Hermione waved goodbye and left the shop to see what jewellery she could find.

The bell tinkled merrily as she entered, and she gasped as she looked around. All the jewellery was sparkling under the soft lighting, and it all looked lovely. It was also very expensive.

She decided to buy a pearl necklace with a blue bow to go with Ginny's dress and a silver chain for herself that looked very dainty around her wrist.

She eyed a beautiful golden heart locket encrusted with a single ruby with longing; but decided she had spent enough for one day. She was paying when she heard knocking on the window accompanied by wolf whistles and catcalls.

She turned to see four teenage boys eyeing her up, causing her to inwardly groan and roll her eyes. She hoped they would just go away; but no such luck. They entered the shop leering at her.

She thanked the shop owner and pushed past the boys out into the street, but they followed her. She really didn't want to cause a scene, but she feared she might have to put them in their place.

"Hey there, beautiful!" One called, coming a bit too close for comfort.

"Leave me alone, please." She asked politely but firmly. They ignored her.

"So, what's a pretty little thing like you doing buying jewellery for herself? Isn't that your boyfriend's job?"

Hermione sighed in exasperation, "I don't have a boyfriend. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to meet up with some friends.

One grabbed her arm and smirked at her, "Why don't you hang out with us instead? We know a great park just a few minutes' walk away. We could have all sorts of fun…"

Hermione inwardly shuddered, deciding it was time to get them off of her. Twisting her arm suddenly and grabbing the boy's wrist she pinned it painfully behind his back. He yelped in surprise and pain, but she didn't let go.

"I said, please can you leave me alone. I need to meet up with someone!" she said more firmly, releasing his wrist.

She didn't see one of them grab her bags from the floor and run off with them until it was too late.

"Hey!" she cried angrily, "Those are mine, give them back!"

She started running after them into an alleyway, skidding to a halt when she saw one of the boys holding her bags, leaning on the wall smirking. She scowled and approached him.

Suddenly, her arms were pinned behind her back and she was shoved painfully into the wall. She realised that this was all planned.

"Shit." She muttered.

She relaxed her whole body to lull them into a false sense of security, and then swiftly kicked her leg backwards into the boy's groin. Spinning around she head-butted him and tripped him over onto the floor.

Soon two more of them were on her, and one managed to shove her backwards into the wall. Her head hit the bricks with a painful thud and a sharp pain in her left arm indicated it had been injured. She looked over and saw it had been cut on a nail jutting out from the wall.

Her head was spinning, but she kept on fighting. She shut of her mind and acted on impulse alone, managing to get three of them on the floor. The fourth was trickier; he was much bigger than her and with her injured head and arm she was not as fast as she normally was. She cursed; circumstance was not in her favour.

She managed to floor the fourth boy giving her just enough time to grab her bags and run.

She sprinted out of the alley as fast as she could, turning back to see if they were following her. She did not see the person in front of her and she collided into a hard chest. Stumbling back, she saw Draco's face etched with both worry and fury.

"Hermione," he breathed, "what the fuck happened?"

To answer her three of the four boys charged out of the alley, shouting at her. She squeaked an darted behind Draco for cover.

He read the situation immediately and stood with his arms crossed and his cool eyes burning holes in the four boys. They skidded to a halt in front of him, and he sneered menacingly at them.

"Gentlemen, I find myself perplexed. I had agreed to meet my friend, but she was nowhere to be found. I then find her running away from you lot, so I ask you, what the _fuck _did you do to her?" he snarled.

Two of the boys pushed the bigger boy forward, and he stumbled slightly. "We were just having a bit of fun. She was taking it way too seriously."

Draco nodded and inspected his nails casually. "Well, it's up to you. Either I beat the shit out of you, or you apologise and then I beat the shit out of you for slightly less time. Your choice."

The fourth boy hobbled out of the alleyway and joined the others. Obviously heartened by the extra back-up, the large boy sneered. "You don't scare me, Malfoy. Oh yeah, I know who you are!"

Draco rolled his eyes, "What an advantage. Unfortunately I don't have the displeasure of knowing your name. It will hardly matter when you're on the floor in indescribable pain."

"The name's Dudley Dursley. You seem to be quite confident that you'll be able to beat us in a fight, have you considered we might pummel you?"

Draco scoffed, "Hermione was surprised, cornered and injured and yet she still whipped your sorry arses. I doubt I would have much trouble."

"Hermione! There you are!" Blaise yelled as he ran up to where they were.

Draco grinned, "It will be very easy now that I have back-up. Why don't you tell Blaise why I'm threatening to dismember you?"

Blaise looked between Hermione, Draco and Dudley and understood immediately. He glared furiously at the boys.

Dudley threw his hands up in the air, "All we did was take her to the alley. She caused more damage to us than we did to her!"

Hermione saw red. She was willing to let Draco and Blaise beat up the boys in her weakened state, but she couldn't let that comment pass. She stepped out from behind Draco and glowered at the boys. "If I caused more damage to you, would you please explain why my arm is bleeding profusely and my head feels like there is a small herd of elephants in it?"

"But you-" started Dudley, but Hermione cut him off.

"Whatever I did was in self-defence! You attacked me and there is no excuse for that!"

She stalked up to the boy and poked him straight in the chest, "You will never come near me or any other girl again, do you understand?"

He scowled and made to grab her arm, but before he had the chance Hermione had been yanked back by Blaise and Draco had one hand around the boy's neck and the other restraining his arms.

"Hey! What's going on here, then?" A burly police officer approached the group with a scowl.

Draco pushed Dudley back and turned to address the police officer sweetly, "Well, you see, my friend Blaise and I had agreed to meet up with our friend Hermione. However we couldn't find her until she flew straight out of an alley with a bleeding arm, hurting head and scared half to death. She was swiftly followed by these four gentlemen, and I was just about to punch their lights out for attacking her."

The policeman looked to Hermione for confirmation, and when she nodded he turned and scowled at the four boys. "Whilst I'm tempted to let you, heaven knows they deserve it, I unfortunately can't. You four, follow me! Miss, would you like to press charges?"

Hermione shook her head, "I got some good kicks in and they didn't actually do anything, so no. But if they ever do anything like this again, just let me know and I will be happy to testify in court."

The officer nodded, "Alright, just let me know if you change your mind. Can you get home or would you like to go to hospital?"

Hermione smiled, "No, it's not as bad as it looks. Home's quite close and I would prefer to go there."

The officer frowned, "It would probably be wise to at least go to the doctors', just in case."

Draco put his arm around Hermione, "We have quite a good doctor on sight at home, thank you."

Recognition dawned on the officer's face, "Thought I recognised the hair. I will have to contact your father, young Master Malfoy."

Draco groaned, "If you must. Thank you for your help here, officer. I'll take Hermione home."

The officer nodded and smiled at them, "Happy to help. If you change your mind, miss, don't be afraid to let us know."

Hermione smiled at him, before walking off with Draco and Blaise.

"What were you even doing? I said meet us in the clothes shop!" Draco yelled accusingly at her, but she could tell he wasn't actually angry with her because his arm tightened around her.

"I was admiring a really nice necklace in the jewellery shop, actually!" she said.

Draco scowled and dragged her into the jewellery shop. "Show me which one."

She sighed and pointed to the lovely heart locket. Draco summoned over the shopkeeper and pointed to the necklace. "I'd like that one." He said in an irritated tone.

After he had paid, he thrust the cream box into her hands and scowled, "There, happy now? Hopefully now you won't try to get yourself killed!"

Hermione giggled and smiled brightly at him, "Thank you, Draco. I mean it, thanks. For the necklace and for defending me." She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

He went slightly pink and pulled her out of the shop, "Alright, alright. Let's get you home." He grumbled, putting his arm around her back again and guiding her to the horses.

Hermione saw Blaise had already lead the horses out, and he grinned knowingly at her when he saw the cream box and Draco's surly expression marred by his slightly pink cheeks.

As Draco went to sort out the horses, Blaise walked up to Hermione, "It's his way of saying he's glad nothing bad, other than your arm, happened to you and he's sorry that he wasn't there to stop them in the first place."

Hermione smiled at him, "I can forgive him, I really like the necklace! Plus, it wasn't his fault. Thank you, by the way, for helping me."

Blaise grinned and ruffled her hair, "Any time, Hermione!"

"With your bad arm and head, I want you to ride with me." Draco ordered, riding up to them on top of Vlad. "Blaise, can you lift her up, please?"

Blaise nodded and gently lifted her by the waist onto Vlad, in front of Draco. Immediately he put one arm around her middle drawing her closer to his chest.

Under normal circumstances, she would have probably objected but she was starting to feel slightly light-headed from blood loss and her head was throbbing anyway. Sleep was looking very appealing to her. She snuggled back into Draco's chest, happy for the warmth.

"I thought Vlad was mean to strangers." She mumbled to Draco.

"Stay awake, Hermione. If you're with me, Vlad won't object."

Blaise secured the bags onto Koko's back and mounted Oberon, still holding on to Koko's reins.

"Let's go." Draco said, and Hermione nodded sleepily, still clutching the cream box. Soon they were cantering down the path back to the manor.

* * *

"Hermione, eyes open!" Draco ordered as he carried her bridal-style through the door. He set her on her feet and she complained lightly, rubbing her eyes.

"You couldn't manage to avoid conflict one time, Draco?" Lucius muttered walking into the hall.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault, Hermione was attacked!" Draco defended.

Lucius shook his head, "Yes I heard. Are you alright, Miss Rivers?"

Hermione nodded and mumbled incoherently. Lucius smirked at her, "I hope you are, because there is a red-headed ball of fury ready to avenge you!"

As he said this, Ginny flew into the hall, and as soon as she saw Hermione she barrelled straight into her trapping her tightly in her arms.

"Hermione! Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried when Mr Malfoy said you had had an accident, I thought the worst! Please tell me you are fine!"

Hermione nodded, slightly annoyed at the disturbance, "I just want to go to sleep!" she complained.

Ginny shook her head, "No, no sleep for you yet! We need to clean up your arm and make sure you don't have a concussion! Mr Malfoy, do you have a doctor or something?"

Lucius rolled his eyes at Ginny's bossiness, but gestured for them to follow him. Draco picked up Hermione again and followed Lucius up the stairs accompanied by a fretting Ginny.

Soon enough Hermione's arm had been cleaned and she had been given medicine for her head. She was currently in a bed talking to Ginny.

"You were right when you said Draco was hot, he is gorgeous!" Ginny fanned herself, causing Hermione to laugh.

"I still haven't met Blaise, though." Frowned Ginny, "You said he would be more my taste, though I would happily change tastes for Draco! Talk about yummy!"

Hermione shook her head at her friend's antics, "I think Blaise was stabling the horses, you'll meet him soon enough."

Ginny nodded, "If he's anything like you described, then I am going to be one happy girl!"

Hermione giggled again, it was so good to have her friend with her. Ginny seemed to make the world shine just a bit brighter.

There was a knock on the door and after Hermione yelled for whoever it was to come in, Blaise entered smiling at Hermione.

His gaze quickly locked with Ginny, and Hermione could see the shock on his face. She knew Ginny was speechless as well, so she took the opportunity to introduce them.

"Ginny, this is Blaise. Blaise, Ginny." She said, smiling coyly. This would be fun.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, please make my day and review;)**

**GoldieXx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I'm baaaaack! Sorry for the slightly late update, I try and update every three to four days but I have been hiking all weekend. I had to sleep in a field. In a field. In a FIELD! I'm so proud of myself though, I'm not a 'hiker' but we managed 30km, which was pretty good. Thanks to Malibu Baybreeze and Cherryberry8, you guys keep me going! The song for this chapter is Paradise by Coldplay, please read and review, I own nothing and on with the story!**

* * *

Hermione woke to the soft sound of snoring. Glancing across the bed she saw Ginny sprawled out with her red hair fanning over the pillows. Hermione groaned slightly when she remembered the events of the previous day, her arm was bound in a bandage and she could feel the lump protruding out of her head.

She then remembered Ginny meeting Blaise, and grinned evilly. The two had stared at each other for quite a while before Blaise finally snapped out of it, said an awkward goodnight to them both and sped out of the room. Ginny had remained slightly gobsmacked, but then she excused herself to shower, her eyes dreamy. Hermione had fallen asleep whilst she was in the shower.

Hermione stretched out on the bed and glanced over at her clock; it was half past seven. She still had to tutor Draco today; according to Lucius an attempted rape didn't get her a day off. Bastard. Still, it would take her mind off of it.

Ginny stirred beside her and glanced up groggily. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, she gave an enormous yawn. "I had the weirdest dream. You had been attacked, then carried to your room by a gorgeous blond, and then visited by an even more gorgeous Italian."

Hermione giggled, "Not a dream Ginny, and that gorgeous Italian is called Blaise Zabini."

Ginny shot up straight and gaped at Hermione, "He was real, wasn't he! They both were! Oh my God, Blaise is _hot_! How are you not interested in him?"

Hermione shrugged, "I like him, but I couldn't picture a relationship with him. He's more an 'older brother' type."

Ginny grinned wolfishly, "I'm glad you don't like him like that, it will make it all the easier for me to swoop in. I have a feeling, though, that you don't see Draco as the brother type."

Hermione could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks, and she glanced at her hands nervously. Ginny apparently noticed, because she gave a bark of victorious laughter before leaning towards Hermione, "Has he kissed you yet? Have you kissed him?"

Hermione didn't say anything, feeling her cheeks getting even more flushed. Ginny was euphoric, "You _have_, haven't you! Tell me everything!"

Hermione sighed; this was so predictable of Ginny. "I just kissed him on the cheek because he might have sort of bought me a horrifically expensive necklace."

Ginny gasped, "He bought you _jewellery_!? Hermione, this is a really big deal! Show it to me now!"

Hermione obediently got off the bed, all the while cursing Ginny's crush-radar. Grabbing the box from her desk she climbed back on the bed where Ginny immediately snatched the box away from her. She carefully took out the beautiful golden necklace and sighed romantically, "Hermione, it's beautiful! See how the sunlight catches the ruby and makes it glow. He definitely likes you!"

Hermione giggled nervously, "I'm not usually swayed by things like jewellery, but the necklace is very pretty. I just can't get involved with Draco, though. There's too much at risk."

Ginny hummed sympathetically, "I understand. By the way, I never asked you how you're feeling, are you alright?"

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, it could have been a lot worse. My arm hurts slightly, but I'll get over it. Under all the blood, the cut wasn't actually all that deep. It'll heal in no time."

"That's good," said Ginny, "it was all very dramatic last night. I think I gave Mrs Malfoy a miniature heart attack when I hurdled out of Lucius' office after hearing the news. By the way, Lucius is so scary! But I can see where Draco got his looks from." She added thoughtfully.

Hermione grimaced and threw a pillow at her, "Gross, Gin! He's like, fifty!"

"I'd bet five quid he isn't a day over forty three."

"You're on."

Ginny grinned, "But you have to admit, he has great hair. Better than yours!"

Hermione scowled at her friend, "Thanks for that. Ugh, I'm never going to be able to look at him in the same way again! He's an international drug-lord, Ginny!"

Ginny threw her hands up defensively," Alright, alright! I was just stating the obvious!"

Shaking her head, Hermione walked over to the massive closet and picked out some jeans and a hoody. Throwing them on, she walked towards the bed.

"Do you want to go to 'official breakfast' or 'unofficial breakfast'?"

"Depends, where will Blaise be?"

Hermione giggled, "Probably at 'official breakfast', but we will also be eating with captain scary-pants."

Ginny shrugged, "Whatever, as long as Blaise is there. Give me ten minutes to get dressed."

Forty minutes later Hermione guided Ginny down to the breakfast room, feeling slightly shabby next to her friend. Ginny was wearing a blue miniskirt with a cream blouse and a chunky pink belt around her waist and brown leather ankle boots. Her hair was expertly styled and she had just enough make-up on to look sexy but not slutty.

Entering the breakfast room, Hermione saw everyone sitting around a large square table, two seats to a side, eating breakfast. She smiled shyly at Draco, who grinned back at her. A quick glance to her friend told her that Ginny was being very flirty, and a quick glance at Blaise told her that it was working.

Rolling her eyes she sat down at an unoccupied side and grabbed some toast. Ginny sauntered up to the seat next to her and sat down, still eyeing Blaise. He and Draco wee opposite them, Lucius was on their right and Narcissa was on their left. They couldn't actually see Lucius' face as it was stuck in a newspaper.

Narcissa smiled kindly at Hermione, "Hermione, dear, how are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but okay otherwise, thanks for asking." Hermione replied politely.

Without removing his head from behind the newspaper, Lucius spoke, "Miss Rivers, what do you intend to do with your friend during Draco's tutoring?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, something she wouldn't have done if he could see her, "I was thinking she could join in and help, sir. She knows some French."

"That's good. I was also wondering-" he was cut off by the doorbell and finally removed the newspaper, turning to Narcissa, "Do you know who that is, dear?"

She shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I don't. Must just be a delivery of something."

They all went back to eating, but two minutes later one of the staff showed the doorbell ringer into the room. It was Pansy.

She was wearing an outfit similar to Ginny's, but her top was two sizes too small so her breasts were bursting out of the top and her skirt was three inches too short, so if she bent over they would almost definitely be regaled with a view of her panties. Her make-up was grossly overdone, accentuating her pug nose. Overall she looked like a complete slut, again.

"Good morning, everybody!" she chirped loudly. "Thought I'd join you for breakfast. It has just been too long since- _who _is _that_?!" she accused, pointing a finger at Ginny.

Hermione could understand why; Ginny was gorgeous. She was probably the prettiest girl at Hogwarts and was like a swan next to the likes of Pansy; an ugly duckling. Where Pansy's outfit was desperate and slutty, Ginny's was sophisticated yet alluring. Ginny's make-up was tasteful; Pansy's was like a clown.

"That's my friend Ginny." Hermione said, glaring at the angry brunette. Pansy scowled right back at her.

"I see you're still here!" she said rudely, putting a hand on her hip.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and just went back to eating some toast. Pansy scowled at her even more deeply.

"Don't ignore me, you horrible little commoner! I am far better than you will ever be! You are just desperate and deluded to think that you could possibly stand a chance at doing anything. You should just go and…" Pansy continued to yell profanities at Hermione, who just quietly nibbled her toast.

One thing she had learnt was that ignoring someone was incredibly effective, and this proved to be the truth with Pansy. The brunette continued to get more and more agitated, yelling more and more loudly. Hermione didn't even glance at her.

Lucius sent her an amused glance from above his newspaper, and then turned to Pansy. "Miss Parkinson, please could you keep it down?"

Pansy blushed slightly, but covered it up be flicking her hair dramatically. Hermione inwardly smirked at her antics. "Of course, Mr Malfoy; could I borrow Blaise for a minute?"

Lucius waved his hand dismissively at her and Hermione saw Blaise groaning. Nevertheless he got up and followed Pansy out of the room. As soon as they had left, Ginny turned to Draco.

"So that's your girlfriend?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Not by choice."

"Draco Malfoy, have some respect," Lucius snapped, "Miss Parkinson is a high-bred young lady from a very wealthy family."

Ginny gave an amused snort, "High-bred? You talk as if she's a pedigree dog or something. She doesn't dress as if she's high-bred either."

Lucius sighed dramatically and folded his newspaper crisply. "I have no control or interest in what she wears."

"If you aren't interested in what she wears, then her outfit choices clearly aren't working." Ginny snickered.

Lucius got up abruptly and walked out the room with a hard glare at all of them. Narcissa sent her husband a withering look before following her husband out. Ginny turned to Draco, "So he chose you a girlfriend? That's… harsh."

Draco sighed loudly, "Sad but true. 'Harsh' pretty much sums up my father in one word."

Hermione felt a wave of sympathy for him, he clearly didn't feel he had love or pride from his father. She watched as he got up and made his way towards the door. He looked so… lonely.

"Draco, wait one second!" Ginny called in a sweet voice. Draco turned and raised his eyebrows expectantly at her.

"Before you go, could you clear something up for me? You see, I have a bet with Hermione that a really want to win. How old is Lucius?"

Draco frowned in confusion, "He'll be forty-one next February."

"Yes! You owe me a fiver, Hermione!" Ginny crowed jabbing Hermione in the side.

Hermione groaned, "Fine, but he's still old enough to be your dad!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "It's not like I'm looking for anything! I just want you to pay up!"

Whilst she was fishing five pounds out of her purse, Hermione saw Draco grimacing. "Do I even want to know?" he asked.

"Nope!" said Ginny merrily, popping the p and the end.

Hermione sent an apologetic look over at Draco, "See you later, Draco. Good luck getting rid of Pansy!"

"Thanks for reminding me." He called sarcastically over his shoulder as he walked out. Hermione started to pull Ginny out of the room, "Come on, we have stuff to do."

* * *

"Wait, you got his computer files already?"

Hermione waved the memory stick in front of Ginny smugly, and set to plug it into her own laptop. "Yep, but I'm not sure if it's his 'bad' computer or if it's just a cover. We'll see soon enough, this memory stick got all the files, internet history and all social activities on that laptop, and organised them. Ron really is a genius; it also automatically bypasses all passwords and security measures."

Ginny nodded approvingly and dragged up a beanbag next to where Hermione was sitting at her desk. "Have you managed to find the entrance to the labs beneath the Manor yet?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, and I think that will take quite a while to find. I just hope there are blueprints of the Manor on the laptop; that would make my job so much easier."

Hermione opened a file on her computer from the memory stick. Inside it there were four files, labelled 'documents', 'internet history', 'social activity' and 'computer information'. Hermione opened the file for documents first.

As she surfed through them, all she saw was documents of general paperwork. Opening the, she saw they were all completely innocent and quite boring. Opening the internet history files and social activity files she found much of the same. It was just searches for an antique table and an online game of chess.

"Maybe he went incognito on the internet?" Ginny offered.

"No, the memory stick would have picked up on it. I think this must just be his recreational laptop." Hermione said, disappointed. She had hoped that they would find something.

She was just about to close the laptop when Ginny stopped her, "No, wait. Go into computer information."

Hermione sighed but did as she asked. Ginny stared at the screen for a minute with a furrowed brow, "This can't be right. The stuff on that laptop would be barely fifty GB, but it says here that the space is nearly used up. There's more than what we thought!"

Hermione looked at the statistics and saw Ginny was right. There was one thousand GB of space on Lucius' laptop, and it was nearly all used.

Hermione pulled up a basic search string to sift through the information on the memory stick but it came up clean. "Everything on the memory stick is there; the computer information is for Lucius' laptop not the memory stick so all that extra stuff must have slipped it by somehow. I need to call Ron."

She pressed the button on her watch and spoke into it. "Ron, we've looked at the information on the memory stick but there are a load of files it didn't get."

The watch crackled and then Ron's voice came up, "Hang on, I'm hacking your computer now. Yes, I see what you mean. That little bastard!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

She heard Ron sigh, "Okay, imagine everything on a computer as lumps of code. Documents, internet history, all of it. Theses lumps of code are like fish, and the memory stick was designed to be a net that caught them all. Lucius has evidently downloaded software that breaks up choice lumps of code into tiny little pieces that bypass the net and then scrambles them up for extra security. I imagine the memory stick will have caught a few of them, but they will be very well hidden inside the binary code. If I can find just one, I can create a massive search via the internet that will find the corresponding lumps of code and reassemble them all. As long as his laptop is connected to the internet, it can be done but it will take time."

"Okay, tell me what you need me to do."

"Listen very carefully. What you must do is…"

For the next two hours Ron instructed her on how to build a search that would comb through every tiny bit of binary code. It was long and hard work, but eventually Hermione had the program running.

"Alright, you're just going to have to let that do its thing for about twenty four hours. Call me again when it's done. Bye, 'Mione."

"Bye Ron and thanks so much for your help."

Hermione slumped back in her chair and regarded Ginny with tired eyes. "That was one hell of a computer session!"

Rolling her neck, Ginny stretched out like a cat. "I agree. Ron is such a computer nerd."

Hermione giggled and walked over to the bed, collapsing on it. "He's brilliant though. I don't know anyone else our age quite that good at computers."

Ginny gave her a shrewd look, "You really do like him, don't you."

Hermione blushed, avoiding eye contact by looking down at her feet, "Yes, I mean, no, um… it's complicated."

"What's so complicated about it? If you like him, you like him. If you don't, you don't." said Ginny.

"I used to really like him, and I still do, but it's like it's faded away ever so slightly. Maybe it's because I haven't seen him."

Ginny shook her head, "Nope, that's not it at all. It's because you've met someone else."

"Draco?!"

Ginny nodded, "Now I'm not saying that you're head over heels in love with him, but there is definite chemistry. Think about it, you have a lot in common with him; is it so difficult to imagine there could be something between you?"

"Yes! There can't be something between us, Ginny; it would only end up with broken hearts. I've told you this."

"Just think about this Hermione; when was the last time you wished you were with Ron?"

Hermione shook her head and got off the bed. She refused to think about that, so instead she decided to try and turn the tables on Ginny.

"Technically I'm not the only one 'moving on'. How did things end with Harry?"

"As I said before, he only had a small puppy crush on me and I decided to give him a chance. However, we both decided that it just wouldn't work between us and so we called it quits. Personally I think he would have more luck with someone like Luna, they always did share a rather 'special' friendship." said Ginny, "And anyway, I met someone else. Someone called Blaise."

Hermione chuckled ruefully, "You're lucky; you could get away with having a fling with Blaise."

"So you're admitting you want a fling with Draco?"

"No! Don't assume stuff, Gin." said Hermione, glaring at her friend.

Ginny just grinned and stretched back over the bed, "You so want him."

* * *

The rain was pouring down outside and they could all hear it from inside the library. It was streaking down the windows and hammering on the roof. It made the atmosphere warmer and more sheltered, Hermione was tempted to get some hot chocolate.

"It's j'aime, Draco, not je aime. There's a vowel clash otherwise."

"_J'aime _jouer au football avec mon copain Blaise."

"Better." said Hermione, leaning back in her chair. They had been doing simple sentence structure for three hours now and Hermione was getting very sick of it. Apparently Blaise and Ginny were as well, because they kept glancing at the clock, both sighing loudly.

Hermione glanced at them irritably, "If you two aren't going to contribute to the lesson, please leave."

Ginny got up and stretched her arms above her head, eyeing Blaise. "I might just go and look for a book to read tonight." she smirked and sashayed off, pausing to glance over her shoulder at him, "Will you help me out?"

Blaise practically leapt out of his chair to go and join her, not bothering to say goodbye to either of them. Hermione smirked at his boyish eagerness.

Draco chuckled as they disappeared behind a bookcase, "Your friend has an amazing ability of reducing the coolest guy to a puppy dog."

Hermione grinned at him, "That's Ginny! Now, they might be able to slack off but we can't. I want you to make up a few sentences and say them to me."

Draco stared right into her eyes with his own amazing stormy irises and spoke softly, "J'aime cette fille; elle est intelligente, drôle et belle. Cependant, elle est aussi mon professeur, et je ne peux pas l'embrasser droite cette seconde. Je ne sais pas quoi faire."

_(I like this girl; she is smart, funny and beautiful. However, she is also my teacher, and so I can't kiss her right this second. I don't know what to do.)_

Hermione blushed deeply at his romantic words, and stuttered over her own, "Well, um, someone's been practising! Er, that was, um, very good. Keep up the good work."

Draco smirked at her and lent back triumphantly in his chair. "What would you suggest I do?" he crooned, still looking her straight in the eye.

Hermione briefly considered melting into a puddle of goo on the ground, but decided instead not to feed his ego any more. Swatting his arm with some paper, she chuckled at him, "I would suggest that you stop trying to trick me into doing something with your romantic French and instead learn your verbs!"

A pained look crossed his eyes momentarily, and Hermione barely had time to notice it before it was covered by his trademark arrogance.

"It almost worked, love!" he grinned cockily at her. Hermione was about to reply when a series of loud thuds interrupted her.

They both whipped their heads to the direction of the sound and saw Blaise and Ginny emerge from behind a bookcase, both giggling madly.

Hermione immediately noticed Ginny's slightly flushed state and the way her hair wasn't as neat as it had been before. If she didn't know any better, she would say Ginny had just been thoroughly snogged.

"What the hell was that Zabini?" Draco asked, trying to contain his grin.

Blaise smirked, "Oh, you know, just a pile of books that happened to be in the way. We were a bit too… preoccupied to notice it."

Draco didn't even bother trying to hide his grin this time, and he looked on the verge of openly congratulating Blaise.

Ginny stumbled over to the chair beside Hermione and collapsed down into it, "I have _so_ much to tell you later!" she giggled into her ear.

Hermione couldn't help smiling this time and she giggled along with Ginny.

"By the way, Hermione," Blaise said, "Pansy is plotting to put a corrosive acid in your underwear. I'd watch out!"

Hermione found this too funny and burst into peals of laughter. Apparently it was infectious as all the others started laughing too.

With a flourish Hermione closed the French textbook they had been working from and sighed contently. "I think that for the last half hour we should watch a film in French. That's much more enjoyable than learning the imperfect stems." At the cries of agreement she continued, "Do you have a TV in your office Draco?"

Draco sneered, "Of course I do, but we can do so much better than that. Follow me."

He led them out of the library and down several corridors and flights of stairs until they reached a door. Swinging it open ceremoniously Draco extended his arm as an invitation for them to go in.

Hermione gaped around the large room, turning in a slow circle. It was like a miniature cinema, with three rows of six very big, comfortable looking chairs and a sixteen by nine foot screen. At the back there was a bar with plenty of utilities; including a smoothie machine and a vending machine.

"Wowzers," Ginny said, "this place is incredible! I want to be rich!" she whined.

Draco and Blaise laughed at this and Draco went to the bar. "Do you guys want drinks?"

"Diet coke, please." Said Ginny at the same time Blaise said "Beer."

Hermione rolled her eyes and went to go help Draco. "Would a hot chocolate be a possibility?"

"Yeah," said Draco, "I'm having one as well. Do you want caramel, white, dark or milk chocolate? There's also whipped cream, marshmallows and a variety of sauces and sprinkles."

Hermione's eyes widened at the range of possibilities and she laughed dazedly, "I didn't even know white hot chocolate existed! I think I'll go for a traditional one, please."

Draco nodded and started gathering the various things needed to make the hot chocolates. "Would you mind getting Blaise and Ginny's drinks? The vending machine door just opens."

Hermione went over and got out a diet coke and a bottle of beer, and then she took them to Blaise and Ginny. Blaise was in the middle of deciding what film they should watch; and he and Ginny were clearly disagreeing over it.

"But Mission Impossible is the best film ever!" Blaise whined.

"Maybe, but Dangerous Liaisons is a classic!" Ginny argued back.

Hermione rolled her eyes and snatched the remote off of Blaise, "We're watching it in French, remember? I vote we watch something we've all seen and enjoyed like Love Actually."

"Some of us might have not enjoyed Love Actually, though." Blaise grumbled.

Hermione snorted at this, "Please, every guy secretly loves chick-flicks. It takes a real man to own up to it, though. Are you a real man, Blaise?"

"Yes!" Blaise cried like a petulant child, "And therefore I vote we watch Love Actually!"

Giggling, Hermione went back to receive her hot chocolate from Draco. He had put whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate dusting on the top and Hermione didn't think she had ever seen a more appealing drink.

"Thank you, Draco." She smiled brightly at him. He gave her one of his genuine smiles back in return and Hermione had to remember to breathe.

He turned and strolled down to the front row with his drink, looking up at the screen. "Love Actually, good choice."

Blaise had set it up so that it was in French, and using the remote he dimmed the lights and boosted up the volume. "I think that when it gets to five o'clock we should switch back to English. We won't be in lesson time then."

They all agreed and Blaise motioned for them to sit down. Hermione was sitting next to Draco and Ginny, with Draco on her left and Ginny on her right. Blaise was on the other side of Ginny.

Draco turned so he could see them all, "Would it be a good idea to have a film night whenever it's raining and we can't go outside?"

"Yeah!" said Ginny, "We can take it in turns to choose the film."

"That sounds like a good idea." said Hermione, smiling at the thought of watching films with her friends whilst drinking luxurious hot chocolate.

"Let's do it then!" grinned Draco, "Alright, Blaise, start the film!

Blaise complied and they watched in content until the film was over.

* * *

Hermione shoved Ginny into her room and immediately ordered her to sit down on the bed.

"Ginevra Weasley, tell me everything _now!_"

Ginny looked at her innocently and Hermione resisted shaking her, "Oh come on, the sexual tension between you and Blaise at supper was painfully obvious! And you still have to tell me about that incident I the library…"

Ginny grinned widely, "He kissed me, Hermione! We went around the other side of the bookshelf and he suddenly spun me around, pinning me to the shelf and then he snogged me senseless. He is such a good kisser, it's unbelievable! It felt so special."

Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly, Ginny had been kissed loads of times before, she knew how it felt to feel wanted. Hermione had never felt that, not with Ron and she couldn't afford to with Draco.

As if sensing what was wrong, Ginny covered Hermione's hand with her own. "Hey, don't worry. It'll happen; you'll just have to be patient."

Hermione nodded absently and Ginny sighed, "Look, Hermione, you do realise the opportunity to have something special with someone is staring you right in the face. Draco really does like you and you like him. Tell me there hasn't been a moment between you and I'll stop pestering you."

Hermione blushed and thought back to her kissing him on the cheek, him melting her heart with his romantic French words, the necklace hanging around her neck.

Ginny saw the blush and smirked triumphantly, "See! I told you! If you want it, the chance is there. Take my advice and don't let it slip away."

Hermione nodded and smiled at her best friend. At the end of the day, this was why she loved Ginny Weasley like a sister. "We should probably go to sleep. I'm tired and it's late. Goodnight, Gin, I'm happy for you."

"Goodnight, Hermione, thank you."

* * *

In the morning Hermione had been woken by sunlight streaming through the curtains and onto her face. She had immediately got up and dressed, careful not to disturb Ginny.

She was now currently sat at her desk watching her computer for any signs of the program she had created the previous day being completed. She was reading a book to pass the time when Ginny's dramatic awakening grabbed her attention.

The red-head always made a great show of waking up; Hermione didn't even think she did it intentionally. There was a lot of thrashing, stretching and yawning involved.

When Ginny had finally pulled herself together Hermione greeted her, "Good morning, Ginny. Did you sleep well?"

Ginny nodded sleepily, "I did, thank you. I had the most wonderful dream; Blaise and I were in a swimming pool and-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Hermione yelled, having a vague idea of where it was headed.

Ginny frowned and stuck her tongue out, "Alright, Miss Prissy. Whatcha up to?"

"Waiting for this stupid computer program to finish loading." Hermione grumbled, her eyes flickering back to the screen.

"Ron said it would take a minimum of twenty hours and a maximum of forty-eight, I don't think waiting for it is very productive-"

She was cut off by the beeping of the computer signalling the end of the program. Immediately she was on high-alert scanning the screen for any clues. Ginny jumped up and joined her, looking over her shoulder.

There was a sign saying all the files had been downloaded and Hermione did a fist pump before eagerly trying to open the folder that contained all of the documents.

However, when she clicked on it, it requested a password of eight letters.

"Darn," Hermione muttered, "I should have known there would have been some sort of password protection. Let me call Ron."

She pressed the button on her watch, "Ron, it wants a passcode of eight letters, what should I do?"

"You can't use anything to try and bypass the password as the security measures with scramble it up again and send it back out into cyberspace, so you'll have to try something that will work out the password. In your purse there should be a key-ring of a metal shoe attached to your keys. Open it up and insert it into the computer."

Hermione did as he asked, but all that came up was a sign saying 'Error- device not compatible'.

Hermione told Ron this and he swore, "Shit! That means the password changes on a daily base; Lucius must update it. There's nothing more I can do, you'll have to find that one out by yourself."

"Okay Ron, thanks for all your help."

"No problem. How are you doing, by the way?" he said.

"Fine thank you, and you?"

"Brilliant, you'll never guess what happened; Lavender and I are dating! We were out in the woods playing truth or dare with some of the others and I got dared to kiss her, and I did! I walked her back to her dorm and we kissed again, only things escalated and we slept together. It was really good, we both agreed it made us feel special and so I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes! Are you happy for me?"

Hermione wasn't sure the exact moment her heart broke, but she could feel the shards ripping her apart. "Oh, um, yes of course!" she said, fighting back tears, "That's really good, Ron. Congratulations. I've got to go, um, I have a… thing. Bye."

She released the button and drew her legs up against her chest, the tears falling freely down her face.

"Oh, Hermione," said Ginny, "I am so sorry. I knew my brother was thick, but…"

"It's fine, Gin," Hermione stammered, "it just wasn't meant to be. He's always liked Lavender, not me. It's alright."

"But it's not!" said Ginny, drawing her in for a hug, "You're allowed to be upset when someone breaks your heart, Hermione."

Hermione gripped onto Ginny and sobbed fiercely, pressing her face into her shoulder. "W-what do you d-do to m-mend it?" she cried.

Ginny rubbed her back soothingly, "You find someone to pick up the pieces and glue them back together."

"W-who?" she hiccupped.

"Anyone you like. It could be a friend, like Blaise, a family member, like me, or someone new, like Draco." Ginny said.

"I can't t-tell him about R-Ron! It would b-be m-mortifying!"

"You don't have to tell him, just be around him. Let his company make you happy again, that will make it better. Trust me, Hermione; I know what I'm talking about."

Hermione looked into her friend's eyes and all her arguments melted away. She realised what she needed was in fact a good dose of happiness, and Draco did make her happy.

* * *

"'Sup, guys." Ginny called cheerfully at the two boys sitting in the library waiting for their lesson to start.

Hermione trailed behind her nervously, both Draco and Blaise were very perceptive and she didn't want them to know she'd been crying. Luckily for her, they were too busy talking about something else to notice her slightly red-rimmed eyes and nervous demeanour.

"Hey!" greeted Draco, "We were just talking about the Blaise's birthday! I think we should have a massive party to celebrate."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ginny jumped up and down at the idea, "Ooh, I wonder what I'll wear. Will it be inside or outside? How many people will be invited?"

"Woah, slow down!" said Blaise, "I haven't even agreed to this."

"Tough luck, it's happening." Said Ginny firmly, leaving no room for argument. Hermione giggled at Blaise's slightly scared face, and she realised she was feeling better already.

"I think it's a great idea, personally." She said, sitting down. "When exactly is it?"

"A fortnight exactly, which is perfect because we can celebrate over the weekend." said Draco, grinning widely at Blaise.

Blaise groaned and shook his head, "I'm not getting out of this, am I?" he grumbled, and was replied with all three of them smugly telling him he wasn't.

"I think I'll wear my little black dress." said Ginny thoughtfully, "Hermione! You have to wear that peacock dress I got you! It'll look absolutely fabulous!

"Oh, God, she's planning my outfit already!" Hermione groaned, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"

"She can't be that bad." said Draco with a lifted eyebrow.

"Oh, you don't know her like I do. She is a tyrant when it comes to any form of party or celebration. She'll end up planning it!" Hermione said.

"Since its winter, we'll use the ballroom. I think it should have a theme to it, and we should totally hire a really good band to play." Ginny said thoughtfully, tapping her chin.

"So it begins." Hermione said gravely, shaking her head in anticipation.

Draco and Blaise laughed out loud, and Draco put an arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe from that red-headed menace!" Hermione's heart jumped a little at the gesture, even though it was meant as a joke. Draco didn't notice, however, and continued.

"I'll persuade Father to let us do it at formal supper tomorrow, but I don't see why he would have a problem with it. We can therefore make arrangements and send out invites next week."

Ginny squealed and clapped her hands together, excitement clear on her face. "I literally cannot wait! I love parties so much and I'm so good at organising them; please, please, please let me help!"

Draco made a show of sighing and rolling his eyes dramatically, but he grinned at her, "Sure thing, we'll need all the help we can get! This is going to be awesome!"

* * *

**That's all, folks! This chapter was absolutely evil to write! I got writers' block every other paragraph! Ugh, it was also a bit of a filler chapter to lay the groundwork for the next chapter which is much more interesting! I am literally brain dead right now. I really hope you enjoyed this stinky-poo of a chapter and please leave a review; it would make me very happy! Bye!;)**

**GoldieXx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello my lovely little chums! Welcome to the latest chapter of my weird little story. Seriously, I think I got the idea from Johnny English or something…;) Anyway! How're your lives going? I'm in the middle of studying for some very stressful exams *snivels pathetically* and I literally want to slam my bedroom door in the face of the world! Okay, now that little rant is over, thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far, please continue to do so!**

**Malibu Baybreeze: Thanks so much for your continuous support, it really helps!;)**

**Buttercup88: About that, a volcanic eruption in the pacific halted all transportation from Wiltshire to Scotland. *Blinks innocently* Yeah, that's totally what happened! Seriously though, thanks for spotting my mistake, I shall strive to correct it. **

**Cherryberry8: Dude, you there? I NEED YOUUUUUUUUUU! Yeah I'm clingy, deal with it.**

**Song for this chapter is Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis, especially during the party. I sort of made up Ginny's dress, but if you want to see Hermione's dress then search 'red metallic peacock dress' into google images and pretty much every picture is of the dress I envisage. I would recommend you look at it, because I think it's gorgeous! **

**Right, please review or PM or whatever, and on with this chapter! (It's a good one, heehee!;P)**

**Oh, and I own nothing apart from the plot. Unfortunately.**

* * *

"Only twenty-nine hours, seventeen minutes and fifty-four seconds to go!" Ginny squealed suddenly, breaking the otherwise peaceful silence of the library. She was talking about the start of Blaise's party, which began at precisely nine the next evening.

Blaise rolled his eyes; this was about the hundredth time Ginny had yelled out how long there was to wait. It was getting rather annoying, and apparently Draco and Hermione thought so too as Draco glared daggers at her whilst Hermione heaved a sigh.

"Aren't you supposed to be back a school by now?" she muttered under her breath.

Ginny gave a mock gasp and pretended to faint, "And leave you three in charge of organisation?! I think not! I'll go back one or two days after the party."

**(There, happy now Buttercup88?)**

"Can't come soon enough." Draco muttered darkly under his breath causing Blaise to kick him under the table.

"So," Blaise announced loudly to cover Draco's curse, "who are you lot going with?"

"Don't know yet," said Ginny, "but I'm waiting for a certain Italian to ask me."

"Oh really," said Blaise innocently, "and who might he be?"

Ginny shot him a withering glare and he grinned and winked back at her. "Don't worry; I'm sure this handsome, charming, sexy, intelligent, brilliant Italian of yours will be waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase for you at precisely nine o'clock tonight."

"Make it quarter to nine; I want to be there before everybody else." Ginny said, ignoring his exasperated glare. Blaise sighed, that was a blow to his ego. However, it was Ginny's nature.

"What about you, mate?" he asked Draco, "Which lucky lady gets the honour of being your date?"

Draco scowled at him and sunk lower in his chair, "Who do you think? Pansy the prissy princess, of course."

Hermione snorted, breaking the tension. However, Blaise thought he saw a flash of disappointment on her face.

"What about you, Hermione?" he asked her.

She shrugged, "No-one, other than you two I don't know anyone going so I think I'll go as a party of one."

"Not a chance in hell," Ginny fumed, "Draco, _please _can we invite some of our friends so Hermione won't be a complete loner?"

A flash of sympathy shined in Draco's eyes, "What father doesn't know won't hurt him, I'll just pretend they're friends of Blaise or something. Just keep it to a minimum, okay?"

"Thank you," said Ginny, "I'll only invite a few. Who do you think, Hermione?"

"Um, Tony, Harry, Samara and Luna should do."

Blaise saw Ginny pull a face, "Do we have to invite Harry? It would be so awkward."

"Yes," said Hermione forcibly, "he's still a close friend."

"I notice you left a certain red-head off that list."

Again, Blaise noticed a brief glimpse of pain across Hermione's features, "Fine, Danny as well."

"Who's Danny?" Draco asked with a tight voice.

Hermione blushed and looked down; Blaise reckoned this Danny was an object of her affection. "Just a friend." She mumbled. Yes, definitely a crush.

"How _nice_." Draco practically spat. Blaise could feel the waves of jealousy rolling off of him. Blaise decided there and then that a little intervention on his part would definitely not hurt.

"Draco, mate, I need to talk to you now." Blaise said, grabbing Draco's arm and dragging him behind a bookshelf.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Zabini?" Draco grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"How long have you fancied Hermione?"

"_What?"_ Draco spluttered, his ears turning slightly pink, "I don't know what you are talking about!"

Blaise rolled his eyes, it was so typical of Draco to go into denial, "Come of it, Malfoy. You practically admitted it two weeks ago that you liked her, and ever since then you've been seeking out her company."

"Absolute rubbish." Draco sniffed, "You're letting that red-headed girlfriend of yours mess with your mind."

Blaise shook his head and wandered over to the window, sitting down on the spacious windowsill. He watched Draco shuffle back to Hermione self-consciously and wondered when Draco had ever been self-conscience before. He hadn't.

Hermione truly was having an effect on him, Blaise didn't know yet if it was a good or bad thing. In his opinion; it would be the best thing for his friend. However, in Lucius' eyes, it would be a show of weakness and if Blaise knew anything about Lucius Malfoy it was that he couldn't abide weakness.

Lucius was raising his son to be the epitome of a Malfoy; cold-blooded and cruel. Give it a year or two amongst the Slytherins and Draco would turn into his father, but it wasn't too late. He could still do something to help his friend, even if it didn't prevent them both from joining the Slytherin ranks. He could help Draco by giving him a shove into Hermione's arms.

"Ginny," he hollered, not bothering to get up, "I need you!"

There was the sound of a sigh and a chair scraping over the wooden floor. Ginny came into sight, scowling at him, "Your two personalities give me terrible whiplash, Blaise. One moment you're a sexily polite gentlemen and the next you're a whinging three year old!"

Blaise shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, but I do actually need your help."

Ginny jutted her hip and crossed her arms, staring him in the eye, "It better be good, I was right in the middle of ordering the best possible strawberries for the chocolate fountain."

Choosing to ignore the last part of her sentence, Blaise stood up and leaned down to whisper, "Is it only me who is noticing the blazing sexual tension between Hermione and Draco?"

Ginny snorted indelicately, "Please, I think even the butler is aware of it. Is that all you want?"

Blaise frowned at her impatient tone, "No. Truth is; I want to get them together. Draco has been acted all moony and pathetic for the past fortnight and it's getting annoying."

"Tell me about it, I can't even mention his name without Hermione blushing like a nun in a brothel."

Blaise chuckled at her comparison. Whilst Hermione couldn't be described as a nun, she did seem rather naïve about that kind of thing. "Will you help me out? Draco's too stubborn for me to manage it on my own. He practically admitted it too me a week or two ago along with an absolute refusal to act on it. He's completely denying it know, of course."

Ginny's eyes lit up with understanding, "So _that's _why he couldn't look Hermione in the eye just now, you just accused him of liking her! Of course I'll help; I think we should devise a plan for the party tomorrow."

Blaise looked into his cunning streak to try and formulate a brilliant plan, but came up blank. "Maybe we could 'accidently' shove Hermione into him?" he offered lamely. Ginny looked at him as a teacher would look at a four year old trying to understand trigonometry.

"No, that's pathetic. I think you should leave the scheming to me. Ooh, I know! You should snog Hermione!"

Blaise did a double take at her words, "Excuse me? I am _not _snogging Hermione!"

"Alright, alright," grumbled Ginny, "I could snog Draco?"

"You are _not _snogging Draco!" Blaise replied fiercely, "I'd have to punch him in the nose!"

Ginny smiled, apparently satisfied with his answer. "See how even the mention of me snogging another guy makes you jealous? It's the same with Draco. We'll have to play to his possessive and jealous side. It's the only thing that works with men."

Blaise rubbed his hand over his face, distressed at Ginny's words. "You might be right, but I still don't want to kiss Hermione. Sure, she's attractive and I do like her, but not like that! I see her more as a little sister."

Ginny smiled, "You know, she said the same thing about you."

"That she sees me as a little sister?"

Ginny swatted him lightly on the arm, "No, you idiot. She sees you as an older brother."

"Therefore she would resent me for kissing her and ruin our lovely brother-sister relationship. Besides, the only woman I want to kiss is _you_!" Blaise pulled her into his chest, smirking as she gasped and stumbled. He gently took a hold of her chin and tipped her head backwards to allow him to kiss her.

After two or three minutes of being absorbed in a passionate embrace Ginny mumbled something against his lips and pushed backward.

"We still have to come up with a plan." She said, still slightly breathless.

"Fine, but I'm not kissing Hermione. It wouldn't be fair to her or Draco."

Ginny pouted, and he noticed how adorable she looked. "Fine, will you at least dance with her though?"

"I was planning on doing that anyway, she is my friend! I doubt that will create black holes of jealousy inside Draco, he trusts me too much to worry about me dancing with her."

"How do you know that?" Ginny challenged.

"Because I would be fine with it if he danced with you. As long as he kept his hands north of the equator. But not too north." Blaise added as an afterthought. At seeing Ginny's hopeful expression he groaned. "No I am not going to dirty dance with Hermione!"

Ginny pouted again, "Jealousy works wonders with men, though."

He shook his head in amazement, "How come it has such a small effect on women? Here we are, you trying to persuade me to snog your best friend!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Men see things in black and white, but there are a million shades of grey when it comes to woman. You snogging Hermione is for the greater good and it doesn't pose a threat to our relationship. Trust me though, if some little tart was trying it on with you then I wouldn't be nearly so nice!"

Blaise chuckled at her fearsome expression, "But still, wouldn't you feel a tiny bit of resentment to Hermione?"

"Nope, because I'd know she didn't initiate it. It would be like me kissing Draco for the greater good; you wouldn't mind."

Blaise chuckled darkly, "That's where you're wrong, sweetheart. Even if I knew there were twenty million lives at stake, I would still go in guns blazing and punch his lights out. Which is another reason why I shouldn't kiss Hermione, as I can assure you Draco would do exactly the same!"

"Bloody gits and your protective instincts!" Ginny grumbled, "We are quite capable of defending ourselves, you know!"

"Of course I do, I've been on the receiving end of one of Hermione's punches. However, remember it was our 'protective instincts'," here he mimicked Ginny's condescending tone, "that saved Hermione from being gang-raped."

"Fine, fine, so it has its advantages. However, you can be rest assured that I wouldn't hesitate to slap anyone who tries to come on to me."

Blaise grinned and slung an arm around her shoulder, "My fierce little lioness. Will you manage to execute a plan that doesn't involve me snogging Hermione?"

Ginny sighed dramatically and glared witheringly at him, "I guess I'll just have to force her into an incredibly sexy outfit that will blow Draco off of his feet."

"Good idea. A word of advice, just keep it classy with just a promise of sexual allure. Draco can't abide slutty clothes."

Ginny smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Have you seen the way I dress? 'Classy sexual allure' is my middle name! By the way, do you think Caribbean or French strawberries?"

* * *

"I didn't realise getting ready involved so much _pain_!" Hermione groaned as she plonked herself down on the sofa. Blaise glanced up from his phone to smirk at her. Ginny had dragged her off at midday and had spent the majority of the afternoon getting her ready for the part that night; it was now six o'clock.

"Well it's paid off; I can almost see a swan underneath all of those ugly duckling feathers. Maybe if you put on some nicer clothes…" Blaise chuckled.

Hermione threw him a withering glare, "I make no apologies for wearing a hoodie and leggings whilst I can. They are much more comfortable than the outfit Ginny has planned for me!"

Blaise raised an eyebrow in interest, "What has she got planned for you?"

Hermione shook her head, "Can't say, I've been sworn to secrecy. Trust me though, if I had a say in what I was wearing, it _wouldn't _be what Ginny has planned. It's far too racy for me…"

Blaise nodded and settled back down into the sofa. 'Too racy' in Hermione's opinion translated into 'just right' for everybody else.

"Where's Draco?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Not sure, probably starting to get ready. He takes longer preening than any other male I've known."

Hermione giggled, "That sounds like him. I think Ginny's been getting ready since six in the morning though, that girl scares me!"

Blaise chuckled, "Me too, but don't let tell her I said that or I'll never hear the end of it."

Hermione mimed locking her lips, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Hermione! Get back upstairs now! I still need to deal with your hair and that could take hours!" Ginny stomped into the room glaring at Hermione.

Blaise gave a snort of laughter, quickly covering it with a cough when Ginny scowled at him. "If you want a beautiful red-headed lady to grace you with her presence at the stairs at _precisely _quarter to nine tonight, Mr Zabini, I suggest you start getting ready!"

Blaise stood up and gave a mock bow, grinning lazily at her, "As you wish, ma'am!" He then ambled out of the room, smirking as he heard Hermione's cries of protest at being kidnapped again by Ginny.

He made his way to Draco's room and entered without knocking. Draco emerged from the bathroom wearing only some slacks slung low on his hips and necklaces swinging from his neck. The toothbrush protruding from his moth gently ruined the whole 'sexy bad-boy' look, though.

"What do you want, Zabini?" he mumbled around his toothbrush.

Blaise threw himself down on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. "I was ordered by a mad-woman to start getting ready, but I have no idea how I could possibly take as long as three hours!"

Draco grinned at him and started throwing shirts out of his drawers. "It's simple, really, just put your mind to it and you'll find yourself putting some really weird shit on your face."

Blaise cocked an eyebrow, "And this is a good thing how?"

Rolling his eyes, Draco chucked him a bright pink plastic bottle, "Try it; it makes your face more defined."

Upon a closer inspection of the bottle, Blaise saw the words 'Greek God' in flowing letters on the side of the bottle. He snickered and sniffed the bottle, "Come on mate, this stuff smells like Pansy's perfume! Surely the alarming fuchsia would warn you that this is for girls."

Snatching the bottle back, Draco glowered at Blaise. "It is not, girls don't want faces like Greek gods."

Still snickering Blaise nodded, "Whatever you say, Lady Dracona."

"I'll show you 'lady'!" Draco said as he leapt on top of Blaise, pinning him down. Blaise felt the wind being knocked out of him when Draco's elbow landed in his stomach, and he attempted to push Draco off. "Get off, you wanker! I was joking! Seriously, you're unnaturally heavy."

Draco rolled to the side and smoothly stood, walking arrogantly over to his chest of drawers where he resumed rifling through his shirts. "It's all muscle," he said smugly over his shoulder, "muscle I use to beat your ass! It doesn't go down too badly with chicks either."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I'm still not putting that pink stuff anywhere near my face."

Chuckling, Draco picked two shirts up off the floor and held them out for Blaise to see. One was white and the other emerald green. "Which one do you think I should wear?"

"Are you going to wear a jacket with them?"

"No, just some black jeans and black high-tops."

"Go with the green, the white would be too plain."

Draco nodded and pulled on the green shirt, only buttoning it up halfway so that all of his necklaces were on show against his alabaster skin. Blaise guessed that it was also to show off his chest muscles.

"Hermione likes the silver dragon pendant, by the way." Blaise said suddenly. Draco turned towards him slowly with raised eyebrows.

"How do you know that?"

"She told me."

"Why were you talking about me with her?"

Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's suspicious tone, "She started the conversation, probably because she likes you and wants hints as to whether or not you like her back."

Draco stared at him incredulously, "Do you think she likes me?"

For someone who was so cocky and arrogant, Draco really was unsure of himself underneath it all. Blaise reckoned the cockiness and arrogance was probably put in place to hide just how insecure Draco was.

"Yes, I think she does like you. I think she wants you to ask her out and I think you need to grow a pair and actually do it."

Draco sighed, "We've had this conversation Blaise. I wouldn't be good for Hermione. I'm a murderer, remember?"

"I killed my own father, Draco, and I still don't let it get in the way of my happiness with Ginny. You can't let the shadows of the past darken your future or the chance of you finding light will be that much smaller."

Draco shook his head, "Never took you for a poet, Zabini." He joked humourlessly, "Now go and get ready, or you won't be done in time."

Blaise sighed, but nevertheless got up and walked towards the door. With a final nod towards Draco, he left to go and get changed.

* * *

"You'll be way too hot in that." Draco murmured to Blaise.

Blaise grinned, "Thanks mate, 'hot' was the look I was aiming for."

Draco rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

Shrugging his shoulders, Blaise fixed his attention on the stairs once again. Personally, he thought he looked great. He was wearing a black silk shirt with a white jacket and black trousers. All of it designer labels.

It was fifteen minutes until nine o'clock and they were currently waiting for Hermione and Ginny to make an appearance.

Someone did come down the stairs, but it wasn't Ginny. It was Lucius.

He stood in front of Draco and Blaise and sneered down at them. It was quite impressive, considering Blaise was taller than him.

"Now boys, let's go over some ground rules. If anything is broken, you will pay for it. I expect you to keep your guests where they are supposed to be. Watered down beer is the only alcohol to be served, I don't want fifty drunken teenagers loose on the estate. Your mother and I will be on the opposite side of the manor, and you will have hell to pay if we are disturbed in any way. That includes any police visitations. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Draco muttered, bowing his head slightly under his father's cruel scrutiny. Blaise felt truly sorry for Draco sometimes. Lucius was much harsher when he was alone with his son than when there were others present. Blaise didn't count; he basically lived at the manor.

Lucius nodded and turned on his heel, marching off back up the steps. On his way up, he passed Ginny who was gracefully descending the stairs. Blaise almost licked his lips upon seeing her; she looked absolutely stunning.

The dress she was wearing had a light blue bust with a belt of silver beading. It had a very tight skirt in the same shade ending mid-thigh, and lots of transparent floating chiffon petticoats in every shade of blue that ended at her knees. Ginny had topped the look off with killer navy stilettos and silver jewellery. Her hair was scraped back into a severe ponytail on the top of her head with some loose curls framing her face. Her make-up was relatively light, with the exception of her dark blue eyeliner.

Blaise was practically purring until Draco elbowed him, sending him a quick, lewd look. Blaise ignored him and focused on Ginny, who skipped into his waiting arms.

"You look lovely." He murmured, and Ginny gave him a dazzling grin.

"Thank you, but in my opinion Hermione looks even better! Though technically, it's because of me she looks amazing, so I shall be taking credit for that!"

Blaise chuckled, and gave Ginny a brief kiss.

"Where is Hermione?" Draco interrupted, peering up the stairs.

Ginny pulled away from Blaise and sighed, "She's hiding behind a pillar at the top of the staircase because she has some bizarre idea that she looks slutty. As if I would dress anybody in slutty clothes!" she scoffed.

"It _is_ Hermione; her idea of slutty is very different to everybody else's." Draco said.

Ginny nodded in agreement and cupped her hands around her mouth, "Oi, Hermione! You can come out now, I promise you look fine!"

There was a momentary pause before they finally saw Hermione emerge from her hiding spot, and even with his girlfriend standing next to him Blaise was blown away.

Hermione started descending the stairs slowly, biting her lip self-consciously. She really had no idea just how stunning she looked.

She was wearing an absolutely gorgeous dress; the bust was a metallic red with a sweetheart neckline and no straps, demurely showing of cleavage nobody knew she had. The skirt ended just above her knees and was composed of many layers of red and black chiffon. A peacock feather emblem extended over both bust and skirt, composed of many luxurious colours. She was wearing black stilettos that accentuated her long legs and the only jewellery she was wearing was golden locket Draco had given her.

Her hair was captured in a messy side bun with rebellious curls framing her face. Ruby-coloured gems were scattered in her hair, gleaming when they caught the light. Her make-up was very dramatic; shades of red, black and gold eye-shadow with black eyeliner and mascara. Her lips were painted crimson with a hint of gold.

She was exquisite, her ethereal beauty balanced with her demure posture. She seemed to truly glow; radiating splendour and happiness all in one.

"I'm brilliant, aren't I?" Ginny murmured to Blaise, "Draco doesn't know what to do with himself!" It was true; Draco's expression was one of shock, lust and awe all in one. His mouth was slightly parted and he looked ready to lunge towards Hermione and sweep her off of her feet.

Ginny giggled, "I based her outfit and make-up on the locket Draco gave her, clever right?" Blaise could only shake his head in amusement at Ginny's plotting. It had certainly worked; Draco would have a very hard job denying that he wasn't attracted to Hermione now.

She had finally reached them, and smiled hesitantly up at Blaise and Draco. Blaise heard him take a sharp intake of breath and grinned inwardly. "Come on then, Draco. Tell Hermione how lovely she looks." He teased.

Draco gulped, before he suddenly seemed to regain control of his senses. He gave Hermione a dazzling smile and gently grabbed her hand. Placing a lingering kiss on the inside of her wrist, Draco looked her straight in the eye, "You look positively succulent, Hermione." Hermione's cheeks flooded with colour, and she smiled hesitantly back at him.

Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's display; he had never seen anything that screamed 'I want to have sex with you here and now' quite so much.

He smiled warmly at Hermione, "You look lovely, Hermione."

"Thank you Blaise, you look lovely yourself." she said.

"What about me?" Draco whined petulantly. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him, "I'm not about to tell you that you look 'succulent' Draco, if that's what you're after."

Blaise laughed outright at Draco's face, and was just about to add salt to the wound when the doorbell rang.

The butler had barely opened it when Pansy barged past and went straight towards Draco. "Draco! Look at my dress, don't I just look gorgeous?" she screeched, clinging onto his arms.

The dress she was wearing, in Blaise's humble opinion, was absolutely hideous. It was a loud pink colour and barely covered her at all. It started a millimetre above her nipples and a millimetre below her buttocks and was backless, dipping down low enough to see the beginning of her butt-crack. All in all, it screamed slutty and desperate. Just another typical Pansy outfit.

"Um, you certainly look, _individual_." Draco said, wrinkling his nose distastefully at her. Pansy obviously took this as a shining compliment, because she giggled shrilly and twirled her hair.

"Well, when you've got a body this sexy, it would be a shame not to show the entire world."

"You don't only _show _the world." Blaise muttered under his breath, causing Ginny to giggle.

Pansy whirled around to glare at her, but noticed Hermione. Sneering in an ugly way she put her hands on her hips and looked Hermione up and down in a condescending way. "Where did you get that? It's disgusting. Your hair is a mess as well; it looks like a family of homeless mice faced the decision of your hair or death. I would have chosen death, personally."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Ginny beat her to it, "Save it, Pansy. You just can't deal with the fact that Hermione has more beauty, class and intelligence in one eyelash than you have in your entire body. That dress looks like it was made for someone aged two.

Pansy scoffed and turned to Draco, "Don't you think I look much better than both of them, Draco?" she crooned, shamelessly pushing her breasts into Draco's side.

Draco pushed her away and shook his head, "No, I think they both look way better than you. You could be pretty if you wore some nice, less slutty, clothes and more tasteful make-up. Then you would have to eat the make-up so you could be beautiful on the inside as well."

Pansy stared at him in shock, before laughing shrilly, "Oh Draco, don't tease. You really are too witty. I'm going to go to the bathroom and then we can go into the party, okay?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

"Whatever." Draco muttered, pushing her away again.

Pansy grinned and sauntered off, leaving the group shaking their heads.

"I swear she is thicker than her clothes are slutty!" Blaise said.

* * *

It was now ten o'clock and the party was in full swing. Ginny had truly outdone herself, the large ballroom was beautiful.

There were speakers in the four corners of the room and a DJ blasting the best new songs out from the far wall. People were dancing and swaying in time to the music on the dance-floor whilst others chatted in a seating area that was scattered with various leather sofas and armchairs. A long food table had been set up serving everything from caviar to hot-dogs. A massive chocolate fountain graced the centre of the table, surrounded by plates of exotic fruits. There was also a bar serving beer and various soft drinks. The room was bathed in the light of neon lasers and disco lights, constantly moving and changing colour.

Blaise was currently dancing with Ginny at the centre of the dance-floor, swaying in time to the heady music. Nearby Draco was dancing with a tall blond bimbo, beer cup in hand, and they were shamelessly grinding up against each other. Blaise rolled his eye at his randy friend and scouted the area for Hermione.

She was sitting down talking to a boy whose eyes were glued to her chest. She clearly hadn't realised, as she was talking animatedly to him about something.

"I'm going to dance with Hermione." He yelled to Ginny over the music. She nodded and broke away from him, moving towards Draco. She shooed away the tall blond, who gave her a dirty glare before moving off. Draco looked temporarily annoyed but was soon dancing quite happily with Ginny. Blaise shook his head at Ginny's confidence, she really was something else.

He moved over to Hermione and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. The boy looked like he was about to object, but was silenced by one look from Blaise. He then proceeded to drag Hermione onto the dance floor.

"Hey!" she protested, giggling. Blaise grinned at her and soon they were dancing along to the song.

Suddenly, Hermione seemed to notice someone because she waved her arm manically and went to grab Ginny, who was right in the middle of dirty-dancing with Draco, and dragged her over to the door.

Blaise saw Hermione and Ginny run up to three boys and two girls, and he motioned for Draco to follow him over to where they were.

When they reached the group, Hermione and Ginny were embracing everybody happily. Hermione was hugging a dreamy-looking girl with very long blond hair and Ginny was hugging a boy with sandy brown hair. Blaise resisted the urge to punch him.

"I take it these are your friends, Hermione." Draco said, looking over them critically. Hermione turned to him and nodded happily.

"Yes, this is Luna, Samara, Tony, Harry and-"

"Danny!" Ginny interrupted, poking him square in the chest, "That's Charlie's jumper isn't it? He's going to absolutely kill you when he realises you've taken it!"

The boy in question just shrugged, "He won't notice."

"Who's Charlie?" Blaise asked, putting an arm around Ginny.

"My brother, I'm the youngest of seven. There's Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Danny and myself." Ginny said, counting on her fingers.

"Naturally, I'm the best." Danny said smugly, "Hermione! It's great to see you!" he moved to embrace her, but she subtly dodged him. Blaise made a mental note to ask her about that, as she had readily hugged the other two boys and he had thought that she liked him.

"Aye, it hasn't been the same without yer, lass!" the sandy-brown haired one said in a thick Irish accent.

"I have, like, so much to tell you guys!" The girl called Samara gushed, hugging Ginny again. "Hello handsome, what's your name?" she asked, eyeing Draco appreciatively.

Draco grinned smugly and held out his hand, "Draco Malfoy, and this git is Blaise Zabini."

As Samara shook it, the raven-haired boy pulled Ginny aside. "Look, Ginny, I know we decided to end things but I really miss you. Please can we give it another go?

Blaise zoned on this immediately, and slung an arm over her shoulders. It seemed a casual gesture to all the girls; but it was a universal 'back-off' sign for guys.

"Ginny, do you want to go dance?" he asked her, pressing her close to him.

The black-haired boy, Harry, seemed to understand the situation as he looked at Ginny critically, "Seriously, Ginny? We only split up like three weeks ago and already you're moving on?"

"I don't blame her, personally. You, mister, are hot!" Samara said causing Blaise to roll his eyes, but grin at the same time.

Hermione shook her head and grabbed Tony's hand, pulling him towards the dance floor. "Come on, you lot!"

Blaise chuckled and led Hermione to the dance floor. As he walked past Draco, the blond suddenly hissed in his ear, "I don't like that Irish ponce. Something about him rubs me up the wrong way!"

Blaise grinned, "Maybe it's because he got to dance with Hermione before you. You should ask her to dance, mate."

"I will. Hey, not that I care, but have you seen Pansy?"

"I saw her sneaking off with some guy." Blaise snickered.

Draco shook his head, "That woman is going to be the death of me. At least she's out of the way!"

"Go and ask Hermione to dance." Blaise insisted, shoving him towards where she was dancing with Tony.

Draco scowled but nonetheless went over and asked Hermione to dance. She accepted and Draco hesitantly put his hands around her waist whilst she rested hers on his forearms.

Blaise looked around for Ginny, wanting to point it out to her, and finally saw her red hair glinting by the DJ's table. As she came back over wearing a smug expression, a romantic song started playing. As she stepped into his arms he gave her a questioning glance.

"What? They need help getting close!"

They were doing just that. As the song progressed, Draco's arms were now wrapped around Hermione whilst her head was resting against his chest. They were moving slowly in time to the music, swaying gently together.

"They are so adorable!" Ginny cooed, hugging Blaise fiercely, "We did a good thing."

Blaise nodded, "We did, but I don't think it's over. Draco is still stubborn enough to put up a fight."

"Why is he so opposed to a relationship with her?" Ginny asked curiously.

Blaise sighed; he had suspected this question would come up. He could hardly tell Ginny the truth; he would lose both hers and Draco's trust. "I think he doesn't want to disobey his father. If he dumped Pansy for Hermione, he would be disobeying Lucius."

"It's sad that he lets Lucius have so much control over him."

Blaise agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

It was coming up to midnight and the party was still going strong. Blaise and Draco were sitting on one of the sofas idly chatting whilst the others were still dancing.

"What do you think happened between Hermione and Danny?" Draco asked, swirling his beer around in the cup.

"I don't know, but there's certainly something going on. Why do you ask?"

Draco shrugged, downing the contents of his cup in one gulp. "Just curious, that's all. Do you think she likes him?"

Blaise huffed in annoyance, "Just ask her out, for heaven's sake! You don't need to act all jealous when a guy talks to her."

"I know, I know," Draco said defensively, "and I'm not going to ask her out. I've told you this a million times."

"You seemed to be dancing with her very happily back then; you guys were getting very cosy."

"So were you and Ginny!"

"She's my girlfriend, Malfoy. Speaking of, why the hell were you dirty-dancing with my girlfriend?" Blaise said jokingly.

Draco grinned at him, "What can I say? She's an excellent dancer. A bit pushy though, I quite liked the look of that blond I was dancing with before."

Blaise chuckled, "More like grinding. You can do better than that, Draco!"

"How? She was hot!"

"Do you even know her name?"

"Uh, no."

"You are such a player!"

Draco grinned wolfishly, "I can't help it if women can't keep their hands off of me."

"You've got a girlfriend, Malfoy."

"A girlfriend I hate."

"I bet you wouldn't hate it if Hermione was your girlfriend." Blaise hinted

Draco huffed and glared at him, "How many bloody times do I have to tell you, I am not going to ask out Hermione. I'm not good for her!"

"Don't give me that crap, Malfoy. You're just worried that nobody will love you because your father doesn't!"

"At least I don't trail after women like a puppy dog desperate for their attention because my mother ignores me!" Draco spat.

Blaise had had enough. Draco's constant whining and finding reasons not to ask out Hermione were really bugging him. And then there was the comment about his mother. He knew he had been out of line talking about Draco's father like that but Draco knew fully well that Blaise's mother ignored him because she had been abused for years.

He didn't care about anything else anymore; he just wanted Draco to get off of his high horse and he wanted revenge for that spiteful comment.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I will show you that you like Hermione." He yelled, storming off.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he spotted Hermione talking with Luna. He strode up to her and without hesitation spun her around and crashed his mouth into hers in a furious kiss.

Hermione froze, not knowing what to do. She wasn't unsure for long, as Blaise found himself being ripped off of Hermione and the next thing he knew he was punched in the face, knocked to the ground by the impact.

He looked up to see the thunderous expression of Draco leering over him. "That was the wrong move, Zabini." He said calmly. Too calmly.

Blaise pulled himself up off the floor and touched his cheek, not at all surprised to see that Draco had broken the skin and blood was running down his jaw.

Blaise quickly put himself in a defensive position, preparing to fight Draco. Draco gave an animalistic growl and launched himself at Blaise.

The force knocked Blaise back but he quickly steadied himself, aiming a good punch at Draco's side. Draco dodged it neatly and attempted to knock Blaise to his feet.

They were both so intent on attacking each other they didn't notice Danny, Toby and Harry trying to pull them apart. Eventually Toby ripped Blaise from Draco, who was being held back by Danny and Harry.

Draco looked ready to fight both Danny and Harry when Hermione leapt in between him and Blaise.

"Okay, stop it both of you now! Do not make me resort to violence because these heels will make me twist my ankle. Blaise, what the hell did you kiss me for?"

Blaise grinned lazily at her, "I was proving a point, and I succeeded."

Draco growled and attempted to fight off the boys restraining him. "You're a dead man walking, Zabini!" he hissed menacingly.

Blaise chuckled humourlessly, "No use denying you don't like her now. If you truly didn't care, you would have let me kiss her."

Hermione whipped her head between them, "That's what this is? You proving a _point_? Blaise, what kind of idiot does that?"

"The kind of idiot that cares about his best friend and knows that you are the best possible thing for him."

Hermione groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers, "I can't deal with this right now. Are you two going to be civil or am I going to have to send you both to bed?"

Shaking off Toby, Blaise straightened his jacket. "I can be civil. Given time, Draco, you'll know that I did it for you."

Hermione rubbed her hands over her face and turned to Draco, "What about you?"

Draco sighed and dropped his head. Danny and Harry warily released him, ready to grab him again if he attacked Blaise. "Yes, sweetheart. I'll be civil. That doesn't mean that I'm not pissed with you Zabini!" he added threateningly.

Hermione turned to Blaise, "Go find Ginny and apologise. You shouldn't have kissed me, Blaise."

Blaise nodded and turned to leave when Ginny bounded up to them.

"I heard there was a fight! What happened?"

"Blaise kissed me to prove a point. I'm really sorry, Ginny, it was completely out of the blue and if I'd known he was going to kiss me then I would have stopped him.

"Wait a minute," said Ginny turning to Blaise, "I thought we agreed to scrap the whole kissing Hermione idea."

"Wait a minute, you _knew _about this?" Hermione interjected, incredulous.

"Of course, it was my idea." said Ginny.

"If you were a guy, I'd punch your lights out Ginny!" Draco growled.

Danny grabbed his arm again; worried he would actually strike his sister. Draco looked at him in annoyance, "I said if she were a guy. I don't hit girls." Danny seemed to accept this answer as he released Draco's arm, albeit hesitantly.

"That won't stop me being pissed with you Ginny. Or you, Zabini."

Blaise sighed, "Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry about kissing Hermione and talking about Lucius like that. But that comment about my mother was out of line."

Draco nodded, "Yes, it was, and I'm sorry too. But you were right by the way about both things."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, "Both things?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, the reason I was in denial and about this point you had to make."

"What about my point?" Blaise asked, unsure of what Draco was talking about.

"It worked." Draco said before he pulled Hermione in for a searing kiss.

* * *

**There you have it folks! That was my favourite chapter so far to write. Please read and review and I shall update all the faster;)**

**GoldieXx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I've decided to do slightly shorter chapters, about 4,000 words compared to my previous 7,000 words per chapter. This means I'll be able to update faster. If any of you disagree with this, please let me know. Also, anybody who leaves a review I shall PM with a sneak-peak of the next chapter;). Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter, they finally kissed, yippee!**

**Malibu Baybreeze: You grab the fireworks, I'll crack open some bubbly!**

**Cherryberry8: Ginny cracks me up on a regular basis! Keeping her under control is getting increasingly difficult…;)**

**Guest (Dramione101): You and me both!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, for the next few ones I think I'll focus more on spy-stuff.**

* * *

For the second time that evening, Hermione froze in the arms of a man who was unexpectedly kissing her. She didn't know what else to do.

Draco's kiss was full of bottled emotion. First, anger, as he crushed his lips to hers and held her there, fiercely moulding her lips to his own as he claimed what he felt was his, showing her his pent-up rage and frustration. Bright lights exploded behind Hermione's eyelids as she gave in to the raw spark of passion that he had ignited inside her.

Then, it changed from a spark of anger into an inferno of desire. He forced her mouth apart with his tongue and nipped her lips with his teeth. Coaxing her tongue into movement he told her just how much he yearned for her through his animalistic, primeval want; laying down the law of his domination. Hermione felt herself melting into him under the heat of his possession, baring her feelings for him to see all of her hidden insecurities and desires.

He latched onto her emotions and the kiss faded into warm embers of tender passion. Slow movements of his mouth against hers as he lifted her chin slightly with a loving touch to allow for a better angle. Hermione found her own hands resting against his chest and her body pressing closer to his. He filled her with warmth and affection with every movement of his lips.

Hermione had never been kissed before, she didn't count Blaise, and she wondered if every kiss was as beautiful as the one she was experiencing now. The waves of emotion rolling from Draco burned her as their flaming passion embraced her soul. She had never felt more desirable, happier or more complete as she did then. She never wanted the feeling to end.

But then, it ended. Draco pulled away suddenly and looked at her in amazement. She could see his every thought flitting across his beautiful eyes, the colour of fiery silver. She gazed into his mind and showed him exactly what she was feeling through her own eyes.

Suddenly, the twin pools of liquid silver steeled into icy sheets of steel. Draco gave her one hard look before whipping around and striding out of the room.

Everything around Hermione returned to her; the noise, lights and the tension crackling in the air around her.

She looked around dazedly to see the varied expressions of all her friends, from shock to smugness to disbelief. All the emotions whizzed around her head, making her increasingly dizzy.

First, Draco had kissed her with passion and desire and then he left without a backwards glance and all the emotions of the people surrounding her were blending together, twisting and distorting to make something huge and horrendous that was pummelling her fragile mind. It was closing in on her, blocking her airways and hindering her senses.

She started coughing and wheezing, desperately trying to take in air whilst she could. She couldn't see anything anymore; she could only feel the blackness consuming her.

A sudden, sharp sting snapped her out of it, and her hand flew to her cheek in astonishment. She realised that Ginny had slapped her.

"Sorry Hermione, you were going into shock." Ginny apologised, not looking very apologetic at all.

Stumbling slightly, Hermione shook her head, "No, no it's fine. I would have done the same thing. Ugh, it's this place with the stupid loud music and bright lights; it's messing with my head. Wha- what happened?"

Lavender snorted, "You mean you really don't remember being snogged to death by a tall blond hottie? Jesus Hermione, I wouldn't forget that in a hurry!"

Hermione grimaced, the memory of Draco's steely glare returning with full force into her mind. For a second there, she had thought that he truly cared about her. It seems she was wrong.

"I'm going to bed." She muttered, pushing through the small crowd of people that had gathered around them. Tears gathered in her eyes and threatened to spill over, and she wiped angrily at them.

"Hermione, wait!" Ginny called behind her, only making Hermione speed up further. She finally reached the double door entrance to the ballroom and she pushed them wide open, storming up the stairs.

Her tears were falling now, tumbling down her cheeks as she ran to her room slamming the door behind her.

She leant against it and crumpled to the ground, covering her face with her hands to try and staunch the heavy flow of tears. She cried for Draco's rejection, her own stupidity and for letting herself care. She knew she had gotten far too deep with Draco and it would now be all the harder to betray him. It was inevitable though; she would end up betraying them all in order to do her job and take down an evil empire.

It just made her cry all the harder. Her emotions were going crazy and she had no idea why.

_Come on, Hermione, get a grip! You have a job to do and you are not going to be able to do it with mascara streaks down your face!_

With a deep breath, she rose to her feet and went to the bathroom, kicking off her heels in the process. After cleaning her face and massaging her sore feet, she felt infinitely better. Making her way over to the bed, she collapsed onto it with a heavy sigh.

"Hermione! I know you are in there, don't make me break down the door!" the angry voice of Ginny came.

Sighing yet again, Hermione went and opened the door, barely hiding a roan when she saw all of her friends, minus Blaise, gathered outside her door.

"If you start singing carols, I'm going to have to shoot you!" she attempted humour, standing back to let them all in.

Ginny immediately enveloped her in a hug, "Hermione, are you all right?"

"Yes! Don't be silly, of course I am. Where's Blaise?"

"He went to bed, though I think he actually went to talk to Draco. Are you sure you're all right?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, I am."

"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry asked, looking in concern at his friend.

She sighed deeply and rubbed he hands over her face, "I don't understand it or want to talk about it. Let's discuss something else. Actually, whilst you're all here, let's talk the mission." Hermione stated, switching into spy mode. It would put a clamp on her emotions for a while, at least. She actively ignored the sympathetic looks she was getting from some of her friends.

"It can't just be called 'the mission', it needs a cool nickname!" said Ron, ever oblivious to other people's feelings. Hermione was about to argue but Lavender got there first.

"That's such a good idea! How about, Mission Impossible?"

"That's so predictable. I think Mission Awesome." said Harry.

"No, Mission Gingerbread!" said Ron.

"More like Mission Carrot-top." said Lavender

"Oi, Ron might be a ginger but my hair is red. Mission Peacock would be cool." said Ginny.

"Why?"

"Because," Ginny explained with a huff, "Lucius is as showy-off as a peacock, Hermione's dress has a peacock design and you don't see the real beauty of a peacock if it hides its feathers."

"How is that relevant?" asked Harry.

Hermione noticed Ginny giving her a strange look, which was gone in a flash. "You'll see. So, are we agreed?"

They all nodded and turned back to face Hermione. "Okay, Mission Peacock it is. We don't have much time and I need your help. Ron and Seamus, my computer is over there, I need you to see if there is any way you could hack into Lucius' database. Ginny and Lavender, tomorrow night I'm going on a hunt around the manor and the gardens and I need a suitable outfit and equipment, could you sort that out? Harry, there's a briefcase buried in the cushions over there, in it there is medicine and various serums. The passcode to the lock is 3864. Could you organise which ones I'll need tomorrow and label them. Luna, I need to talk to you about Lucius."

They all got to work quickly and efficiently on their various tasks, and Hermione motioned for Luna to sit in one of the armchairs whilst she chose to pace in front of her.

"Okay, Luna, I need your help on psychoanalysis. You are the best at it I know. If you were Lucius Malfoy and you wanted to hide the entrance to a secret underground laboratory, where would you hide it?"

Luna considered this for a moment, "I would put in more than one entrance, but no more than three. I reckon there is a tunnel leading away from the manor to a deportation area so all the stuff he's making down there can be deported easily. I also think that the main entrance for the scientists would be somewhere in the house that people don't normally use. Check the ground levels. Lucius will, however, want easy access to it nearby to his study, so I'd also check around that area. It is most likely to be hidden very well, though, so you'll have to look quite hard. Beware of booby-traps as well, Lucius strikes me as someone who would use underhand techniques like that."

"Underhand is his middle name." Hermione muttered, "Thanks, Luna. Also, where would he hide the keys to his draws and cabinets?"

"I imagine they would be on his person at all times. He might have a spare set hidden somewhere though. Not in his office, that would be too obvious for him. Is there somewhere he spends a lot of time outside his office?"

Hermione thought back to a conversation with Draco, "Yes, Draco mentioned something about a personal lounge. He could easily hide it there."

"Perfect. Again, be aware of cameras and stuff. Don't use bugs, his technology is too advanced and he would pick up on it. Use more old-fashioned methods." Luna said in her slightly dreamy way.

"Hermione, what weapons to you want to use?"

Hermione frowned, "I don't really want to hurt or kill anybody, it raises too much suspicion."

Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically, "A situation might arise! What weapons?"

"I guess my throwing knives would be best. No guns."

Ginny nodded and went back to preparing her outfit on the bed.

"Hermione," called Seamus, "we haven't been able ter hack into it completely, but we've managed ter find out yesterday's password."

Hermione scampered over to the computer and looked over Ron's shoulder. There she read D4F5G7B7, yesterday's passcode.

"But that's completely random!" she cried, "When exactly does it reset, did you find that out?"

"Sometime between seven o'clock and eleven o'clock in the morning." Ron replied, "We also discovered he doesn't reset it himself, it's done by the computer itself. There's no way we'd be able to hack it without the current password to get into the database."

Hermione groaned in annoyance and massaged her head, "Then how come you got yesterday's password but not today's?"

"Well," replied Seamus, "the current passcode is being safeguarded by layers and layers of protection that we don't have the equipment ter hack. Yesterday's, however, is not being guarded and with this USB stick we can pick up the traces of it that are left behind."

Hermione nodded her head, "And this will work on every password from the previous day?"

"Should do," said Ron, "just stick it in your computer and run the scan on Lucius' files."

"Thanks, guys." Hermione said, making her way over to Harry.

"Okay, so I've got you basic first aid along with a harmless sleeping draught. I don't think you'll need much else for surveillance. The sleeping draught is attached to a belt and you just have to pull it out of its plastic grip." Harry said, gesturing to the small pile where the sleeping draught capsules were indeed attached to a belt by what looked suspiciously like black lego figure hands.

"Yes, that will do just fine. Oh, could you also add some 'notice-me-not' powder; I don't want to leave any evidence behind."

"Sure thing." Harry said, taking out a leather arm strap, similar to an ammo belt, and popping ten small capsules filled with a brownish liquid into the plastic grips.

Gathering the small pile into her arms, Hermione smiled thankfully at Harry and went over to where Ginny and Lavender where preparing her outfit.

The outfit itself was simple enough; black leggings, black sports-bra, black combat boots and a black zip-up sweater, it was the array of leather straps, bands and belts that made it look very sophisticated.

Carefully placing her pile down on the bed next to a pile of knife holsters, Hermione said, "Is there a pouch or something that I can put the medicine in?"

Without looking up from where she was adjusting belts, Lavender handed her a pouch with a zipped top and two straps on the back of it. "Put the medicine in that thigh patch. The 'notice-me-not' belt can go around your upper left arm and the sleeping draught belt will probably go directly on your waist."

Hermione did as she was told and the second she had finished Ginny swiped it from underneath her and placed it carefully with a group of other strappy-pouches.

"Okay," aid Hermione, looking around the room at everybody, "thank you so much for your help everyone. Now, as much as it pains me to say this, you should probably go. I don't want Lucius yelling at me for having boys upstairs." She smirked.

Seamus raised an eyebrow, "Why doesn't he want boys upstairs?"

Hermione shrugged, "Beats me. I have no idea how the brain of that man works."

"Well, in that case, goodbye Hermione." Harry said, giving her a hug.

One by one her friends all hugged her goodbye and left, apart from Ginny who was leaving in a day or two.

As Hermione collapsed back onto her bed, she finally let the days' activities crash over her and she fell asleep in an exhausted pile of emotion.

* * *

"Hermione, dear, can I talk to you please?" Narcissa asked the next morning, having bumped into Hermione on the way to breakfast.

"Yes, of course. Do you need anything?"

Narcissa gave her a strange look and motioned for Hermione to follow her. She led her outside into the gardens where the sun was shining brightly down over the various plants. It was a strangely nice day for the beginning of winter.

"Now," said Narcissa, "whilst I am not completely aware of the events of last night, I was hoping you would explain them to me."

At Hermione's panicked look, Narcissa laughed, "Don't worry dear, you're not in trouble. At least not with me, I would avoid my husband for the day though."

Hermione scowled, "Why is Lucius upset?" she asked sullenly.

"Because, my dear, he doesn't like the idea that a young girl who was hired to teach his son French verbs would be able to get his son's head in such a tizzy. Lucius thought he raised Draco above all that, but no teenage boy can argue with his hormones. Don't worry about Lucius, he'll get over it."

"Wait, did you say Draco's head was in a tizzy? Over me?" Hermione squeaked, earning her a curious glance from Narcissa.

"Yes, I visited him this morning and the boy's emotions were all over the place. The only thing I could get out of him and Blaise was that it had something to do with you. So tell me, what happened? And why does Blaise have a black eye?"

Hermione sighed, "Blaise kissed me completely out of the blue in a very angry sort of way and then got promptly punched in the face by Draco. Apparently Blaise kissed me to make Draco jealous and it worked, because the next thing I knew Draco was kissing me like he really meant it. But then he just gave me a really rejecting look and stormed off, and I have no idea why. I think it's because he regrets ever kissing me."

Narcissa burst out laughing again, and Hermione gave her an annoyed look, "I'm serious! He looked at me like I was an ugly cow afterwards!"

This just made Narcissa laugh all the harder. Through tears of mirth, she managed to say, "Oh, my dear! You really do have no experience with men! Draco never rejected you or regretted kissing you; if he did he would have stayed. The fact that he left means that he fancies you and was very annoyed with himself for letting it show. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you, my dear. He is simply an awkward teenage boy who has no idea how to control his own feelings. Lucius was just the same when we first met."

Hermione gave a delighted giggle, "Lucius was awkward! I find that very difficult to believe!"

"I know! But he was; it took three meetings before he exchanged more than a gruff 'hello' with me. At first I thought it was because he didn't like me, but I soon discovered it was completely the opposite. When it comes to men, my dear, nearly ninety percent of the time if they at rudely towards you it's because they actually quite like you. The other ten percent is they are just rude people. So it's one hundred percent to do with them or their feelings, not you."

Hermione nodded and smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better after hearing Narcissa say that. "Thank you, that certainly clears things up a bit."

Narcissa grinned, "Just know, any relationship between yourself and Draco I would fully support. You are a lovely, intelligent young lady full of life and I think that's exactly what my son needs.

Hermione nodded, "What about Lucius?"

"As much as I love him, Lucius is rather classist and tends to only mix with members of the highest social circles. Just let me get him used to the idea of you and Draco, maybe you could help me knock some sense into him and get rid of that ghastly Parkinson girl."

Hermione stopped, shocked, "Wait, you don't actually like Pansy?"

Narcissa shook her head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course I don't. She's loud, annoying, vain and dresses deplorably. What is there to like?"

Hermione nodded, that basically summed Pansy up in a nutshell.

"Mrs Malfoy, I hate to be so rude, but why is Lucius so insistent that no boys should accompany me upstairs, or even visit?"

Narcissa sighed, "Lucius is a complicated man. He was taught from a very early age that men are here to control and look after women."

"But that's archaic!" Hermione cried, interrupting her.

Narcissa chuckled ruefully, "Yes it is, but it's what's been hardwired into his brain. I've just discovered some very subtle ways of being equally in charge without him even knowing it. Anyway, because of this he feels slightly threatened whenever a man comes over, worried that this man would question his authority."

"Surely though, that's no reason to ban all men from coming in the house, the men I would invite over are barely even men at all! They're still boys!" Hermione argued.

A flash of something Hermione didn't quite recognise flitted across Narcissa's eyes. "It doesn't matter, Hermione. Just follow his rules."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, something didn't quite match up. Sure, Lucius could be territorial, but he wouldn't be quite so aggressive about it. After all, he let Blaise come and visit; there were plenty of male staff. He had a son who was nearly a man, for crying out loud!

Narcissa clearly wasn't going to give her any more information, so she stored what she already knew away in her 'suspicious' bank along with the date December 25th and the number 8. She could analyse it further when she had more time and information.

"I think it's a lovely day to eat breakfast outside, don't you?" Narcissa asked a bit too cheerily for their previous conversation. "Let's go back and sort it out.

They walked back to the manor, conversing politely about trivial matters such as the weather and the state of Narcissa's rose bushes.

Having returned to the imposing building, Narcissa promptly ordered breakfast to be organised in the 'flower patio'. Hermione later discovered that this was, in fact, a circular patio surrounded by various bushes and plants that she imagined would look lovely in spring or summer.

They were eating croissants and French toast and debating the best places to visit when in Italy, when Hermione heard the clacking of a walking cane along with barking. Lucius entered the patio along with Perseus and Hercules, a grim look on his face.

"Good morning, Miss Rivers." He said in a clipped voice. "I trust you had fun at the pat last night?"

"Yes, sir. It was most enjoyable."

Lucius nodded primly, "Good. I just came to inform you that today's lessons are cancelled. Draco and Blaise have gone into town for the day; they shan't be back till late. Now if you'll excuse me, Athena is having some trouble birthing and the vet isn't picking up his phone. Good day."

"Who's Athena?" asked Hermione, her curious nature pushing through.

Lucius sighed, "She is my favourite female dog currently giving birth to Perseus' young, but is having issues."

"We had some dogs back at my school, and the owner, our PE teacher, taught us all about them and let us get involved with taking care of them. I once helped a dog through a difficult birth. I could help out, if you require assistance." Hermione said; the urge to help winning out over the urge to run and hide from Lucius.

A muscle tensed in his jaw, but nonetheless he nodded and swiftly turned to walk away. Hermione leapt up, and after bidding Narcissa goodbye she hurried after Lucius.

He led her to the stables, and gestured to one which contained the birthing dog.

"Okay," said Hermione, "firstly I need some gloves. If you would be so kind as to remove Hercules and Perseus from the area, if Athena sees them she might freak out slightly and that won't help things at all."

Lucius nodded and shooed the two dogs off, and then handed her a pair of gloves.

Slowly, Hermione entered the stable with Lucius just behind her and approached Athena carefully. Kneeling down beside the large wolf-like bitch, she let Athena sniff her hand before putting on the gloves. "How long has she been in labour?"

"About ten hours." said Lucius, kneeling by the head of his prized female and stroking her head tenderly. Hermione was surprised; she hadn't expected that Lucius would be so involved with these aspects of owning and breeding dogs.

Assessing he dog's situation, Hermione immediately realised what the problem was. The puppy was sideways, meaning it couldn't quite get out of the uterus. She hadn't actually ever helped a dog give birth, but she had read multiple books on the topic and she hoped that would be enough.

"Hold her steady, this will hurt slightly but is necessary."

Lucius complied and held Athena down whilst Hermione gently rotated the puppy until it could come out naturally. Spreading a blanket on the floor, Hermione helped birth five beautiful puppies.

"Thank you." said Lucius suddenly as they were walking out of the stable.

Hermione looked at him in surprise, "No problem! I mean, glad I could be of service." She said hurriedly.

Lucius chuckled, "Regardless of my behaviour at times, Hermione, I do actually quite like you. You are intelligent, kind and you know how to hold your own in an argument. You have many admirable qualities."

"Thank you, sir." Hermione said, too bewildered to say much else.

"Please, call me Lucius. Have a lovely day, Hermione." he said as he turned to walk off. He paused once more to call over his shoulder, "Oh, by the way. Draco 'quite likes' you too."

Hermione stood speechless watching his retreating figure; these wealthy people were so confusing!

* * *

**You bet they are!;)**

**There you have it folks! Please review and I shall PM you a sneak peak of next chapter. Also tell me what you think of shorter chapters, more frequent updates. By the way, I have never birthed a dog and all of that information I got off the internet. Please don't use it whilst birthing your own dog, get a professional if you are worried. Anyway, see you soon!;)**

**GoldieXx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Whew, I'm busy at the moment! Not only are exams going on I am also moving house! Yowch. Anyways, I hope those of you who got a sneak-peak of this chapter liked it and I think I shall be doing it for this chapter as well, so motivation to review! Some people thought that it was rather out of character for Hermione to be so upset about a boy, but I would like to point out that it isn't just her confusion over her feelings for Draco; it's also the guilt of having to lie to him and the pressure of the mission. Just thought I'd clear up any confusion there. I didn't get any complaints about shorter chapters, so I shall continue doing that. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! PS, I own nothing.**

* * *

"Repeat after me. Right arm camera, left arm notice-me-not capsules, right thigh medicine, waist sleeping-draught, hips throwing knives, right shoulder phone."

Hermione sighed, "Right arm camera, left arm notice-me-not capsules, right thigh medicine, waist sleeping-draught, hips throwing knives, right shoulder phone. Is all of this really necessary? What will I even do with a phone?" Hermione asked, gesturing to the millions of leather belts and straps adorning her body.

"It's untraceable and you press one for me, two for Ron and three for every landline in the Manor. You never know, it could be useful. And anyway, what's the point in being a spy if you don't get to wear the cool stuff?" Ginny asked.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Oh I don't know, maybe getting top secret information for the good of the country to take down an evil empire?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Always so pragmatic."

"All this stuff is hardly practical, Ginny. What do I do if I run into Lucius?"

"Pretend Draco has a fetish for bondage."

"_Ginnny!"_

"Alright, keep your knickers on, I was joking! Just use our super spy skills and don't get caught."

Hermione massaged her temples, "I cannot believe I am about to do this. I know we've done practices, but this is a real deal. I can't slip up."

You'll be fine; I think it's super exciting! But seriously, our lives are like that Godfather movie or something. The Malfoys are practically mafia."

Shaking her head, Hermione did a final run-over of the plan in her mind. It was to first find a set of spare keys and infiltrate Lucius' office. After that search for an entrance to the underground lab, but that wasn't a priority. She would have her hands full trying to find the keys anyway. She just sincerely hoped Lucius wouldn't walk in on her rifling through his drawers. That would make for an interesting conversation.

"Okay, I think you are good to go! Just remember your training and you'll be fine. Oh, watch out for cameras as well. And remember this is a surveillance mission, don't try and interfere with anything just yet." Ginny said, shoving Hermione out of the door. Hermione briefly considered having a massive panic attack, but decided it wasn't at all practical. Giving Ginny one last watery smile, she silently sped off down the corridors towards Lucius' office.

She walked soundlessly yet speedily, muffling her footsteps just as she'd been trained. Her heart was in her throat the entire time; she was so paranoid that she would get caught. This was Harry's field, not hers. She felt much more comfortable sitting behind a desk analysing facts. At least when it came down to storming the manor and destroying the lab, she wouldn't actually have to take part. Hell, she would be as many miles away as possible.

The real danger of what she was doing hit her like a steam train. She knew the manor, knew the amount of guards, knew the maze-like layout. Harry would be lucky to get through the front door. There was a very high possibility that they could all die, and Hermione focused on muffling her footsteps even more as if it would decrease the likelihood of her being captured in the future.

She suddenly stopped dead and her mind went back to an earlier thought. The amount of guards; where were all the guards? Usually there were a few patrolling the halls, she had fully expected to have had to take out a few. She had no time to ponder the whereabouts of all the guards as she heard voices rapidly approaching from around the corner.

Looking around desperately around for a hiding spot she instinctively leapt behind the thick curtains of one of the windows. The voices came closer and she held her breath, until she realised it was only Blaise and Draco. She strained her ears to catch snippets of their conversation.

"I don't understand it mate. You kissed her, and then you ran. Why the hell did you do that?" Blaise's voice sounded angry.

"I don't know, okay? I just panicked and ran." Draco sounded irritated.

"She probably thinks you regret kissing her. I would talk to her soon unless you want to lose her."

"Who says I want to keep her? She's a boring, frizzy-haired bookworm. What the hell would anybody see in her?"

Hermione felt like she had been shot. She had known that there was a strong possibility that Draco wasn't attracted to her, but she had thought that they were friends.

Blaise sighed, "You are a bloody prick, you know that? Hermione is interesting, intelligent, friendly, pretty and her hair is much better than yours when you've just got out of bed. Why do you keep denying that you like her? This is exactly why I kissed her, to show you that you do like her. Why did you punch me if you don't like her?"

"Because I do bloody like her!" Draco yelled, "What do you want me to tell you, that she's the most amazing girl I've ever met? That I want to spend all day debating with her and getting to know her, and then I want to spend all night showing her exactly how much I like her? That she was the best kiss of my life and I would move mountains to get another? Is that what you want me to tell you?"

"It's not me you should be telling." Blaise said quietly, almost too quietly for Hermione to hear. They were walking away from her quite rapidly and she strained to hear Draco's response.

"Fuck off, Zabini."

Hermione blinked, her mind trying to process what had just happened. Apparently, Draco did like her. She had to refrain herself from jumping for joy. She tucked everything she had just heard away in her mind for later analysis with Ginny. Right know she had a mission to complete.

Double checking the hallway was clear; Hermione hurried the rest of the way to Lucius' office.

* * *

"Come on, where are you?" Hermione muttered as she poked around Lucius' private sitting room that was situated right next to his office.

She had checked his office for spare keys, but it had been a dead end. She was now thoroughly investigating his store of whiskey for any keys but coming up blank.

Sighing, she sat down on the table in the middle of the room with a huff, but suddenly went rigid when she heard a slight rattling sound. She pushed the table experimentally, and it gave another small rattle. Overjoyed at her good fortune, Hermione dove under the tablecloth and started inspecting the legs.

She tapped along the wood of each one, looking for any hidden compartments. When she heard a slightly hollow sound, she pushed experimentally and a little compartment popped out. Sure enough there was a small metal key inside it. Grabbing it, Hermione made to move from out under the table when she heard someone enter the room.

"Why is it late? It should have been here fifteen minutes ago!" Lucius snarled, and Hermione sighed realising he hadn't noticed her presence.

Because of the tablecloth she wasn't visible unless someone bent down, but she had been caught at an awkward and slightly painful position and she couldn't move. She had to simply wait and pray that Lucius would be quick.

"Do you have any idea how important this shipment is? It will almost definitely be targeted for its content and you are telling me that the transportation got held up? If it is not here in less than two minutes, not only your job will be at stake, do you hear me?" Lucius snapped into the phone, whilst pacing across the room.

He reminded Hermione of an angry tiger, stalking its prey. She just hoped that it wasn't her.

"Good, I have multiple security men waiting to escort it into the compound. The code is Viper6239, don't get it wrong." Lucius ended the call strode over to the door.

He was just about to open it when he stopped, turning around to survey the room. He cautiously walked forward towards the table she was hiding underneath.

The footsteps drew nearer and nearer, and Hermione dared not even breathe. He paused; his leather boots barely an inch from her face.

Fear thrummed through her, poisoning her veins. She briefly pondered why the sound of blood always increased tenfold when one was under immense pressure, but her thoughts were soon dominated by trying to map out an escape route. It was impossible, there wasn't one. The slightest movement on her part and she would be discovered.

She suddenly caught sight of one of the 'notice-me-not' capsules was sliding out of its socket on the belt around her waist.

She couldn't move to try and stop it, she could only watch in desperate fear as it slid completely free and fell to the floor with a quiet thunk. It might have been as loud as a bomb, as far as Hermione was concerned.

Lucius stiffened, and Hermione held her breath as he slowly bent down, praying on every God she knew for a miracle.

Desperately, she sifted through the memories of her lessons at a hundred miles an hour for something, anything, that could help her to get out of this situation.

"_Pretend Draco has a fetish for bondage."_

"_Use your equipment."_

"_Knock him out."_

"_Pretend you are sleepwalking."_

"_Run as fast as you can."_

"_Distract him."_

"_Lie."_

"_Pretend that you are unconscious."_

"_Set off an alarm."_

Her mind latched onto three things, _"Use your equipment" "Distract him" "Set off an alarm". _

The pieces clicked together like a jigsaw puzzle inside her mind and just as she saw the white-blond hair of Lucius fall into view she reached to her shoulder and clicked three on her phone. Instantly the phone on Lucius' desk started ringing.

She had to stop herself bursting into tears from relief when Lucius straightened up and walked over to the desk to pick up the phone. She risked peeking out and saw his back was turned, so she silently grabbed the fallen capsule, slid out from under the table and crept out of the open door.

She soundlessly walked to a safe distance and slumped against a wall, stifling a giggle when she heard Lucius' angry voice coming out of her phone. Turning it off, she looked triumphantly at the key in her hand. She also made a mental note of the code Lucius had given the person on the other end of the phone, Viper6239. She would see if it worked on his computer later.

Deciding she didn't want to go back to her room quite just yet despite her brush with Lucius, Hermione crept back towards his office. She could still hear him pacing in his personal living room, so she went inside the office and wedged herself behind a bookshelf. Because of the positioning of it she would be impossible to see unless Lucius managed to squeeze himself between the bookshelf and a file-X cabinet. Hermione doubted that he would be able to.

Because he was still up, she decided to wait until he left and then wait another half hour before she started prowling about his office.

* * *

One hour later Hermione pulled herself out into the office, looking around the room for anything suspicious. Seeing nothing, she went over to his desk with the key firmly gripped inside her hand.

She inspected the top of his desk again, but once more only found boring business matters and the strange piece of paper with _25__th__ December, 8 _written on it.

Trying the drawers, the key only opened the top right one. Pulling it open, there were seven keys inside it on a metal hoop. Hermione did a little dance and quickly took a photo of the positioning of the keys before pulling them out.

Opening the rest of the drawers, Hermione found one filled with fake identities, one filled with bank notes and one filled with burner phones and a gun. Taking photos of everything, Hermione moved onto the file-X cabinet.

Starting at the bottom, she found a drawer full of various drugs and hexes that the Slytherins used. She carefully photographed all of them and moved to the next drawer. Finding it empty, she moved onto the next one.

The second drawer from the top was virtually empty save a list of contacts. Whilst she photographed it, Hermione wondered where the majority off his documents were. She hadn't seen any floor plans, documents from illegal purchases or contact lists. Either he had another place where he kept his documents or he stored them all on his computer. It seemed that his bloody laptop was the key to everything.

Sighing, Hermione opened the top drawer. It was filled with folders of staff working at the manor. It looked to be just the cleaners and cooks and gardeners, but there was also one on her.

Taking note of its positioning, Hermione opened it up and eagerly looked over Lucius' elegant script. There was a photo of her from the first day she had arrived. She didn't remember anyone taking a photo, but she guessed it was to be expected. Underneath it there was a typical fact file on her.

_Name: Hermione Rivers_

_Age: 18_

_DoB: Sep. 15_

_Sex: Female_

_Staff No: 0073_

_Occupation: Tutor to Draco_

_Notes: Intelligent, plucky, insightful. Could be a valuable asset. Likes animals. Brave in the face of danger. However, has morals and strong opinions. Could be a setback. Knows karate. Speaks six languages. Strong facial likeness to 0285. Will investigate further._

Hermione frowned; she didn't understand half of it. Did he mean she could be a valuable asset to teaching Draco? This seemed like the logical answer, but a niggling thought at the back of her mind told her that there was something else going on here. If Hermione was taught anything as a spy; it was that you should never ignore a gut feeling. Especially when an international drug-lord and top member of the largest criminal group in the world thinks that you could be a setback to something.

She also wanted to know who on earth '0285' was, and why Lucius thought that she looked like them. There was only that one piece of paper in the file and it didn't provide her with any more information. Huffing, she photographed it and set it back inside the cabinet.

After she had carefully replaced the keys and sprinkled some 'notice-me-not' on everything, she set about trying to find a secret entrance to the underground lab.

It didn't take her long; after noticing the fireplace stuck out far too much and hadn't been used in years she decided she was on the right track.

Climbing inside the fireplace, which was spacious enough for a full-grown man, she started poking the walls to try and find something. Her fingers came across a switch and she flicked it, causing a small keypad to be revealed.

It was a standard four-digit code and Hermione instantly recognised it as one of the ones that alerted the owner if there had been any false attempts. She would need the actual code to gain entrance and no doubt that was stored on Lucius' computer.

She could see the first digit was six from the slight wear on the button, but it was impossible to tell what came after that.

Sighing, she flicked the switch and climbed out of the fireplace. She had a lot to ponder and work out, but for now she just wanted to go to sleep. That near-discovery had taken its toll on her energy levels and she just wanted to go to sleep.

Slipping back to her room, she kicked off her gear and hid it under the bed, mindful not to wake Ginny, and swiftly snuggled down into the covers and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning fund Hermione regaling Ginny with her tales of the night before. Ginny had listened to her, awe-struck, with a mesmerized expression on her face.

"Holy hell, Hermione! I would never have thought to use the phone to distract Lucius; I would have sat there trembling like a rabbit. Or I would have punched him out. Either way, that was so clever of you! No wonder they chose you for this mission, in the end it comes down to how well you deal with situations like that. Strategy over Bokator any day." Ginny grinned.

"Do you even know how to do Bokator?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, martial arts are my speciality. I know every form of martial arts on this planet. Don't you know how to do Bokator?"

"No, I only know the big five: judo, karate, kung fu, tae kwon do and muay thai."

Ginny nodded, "I can see why they didn't waste their time teaching you obscure martial arts when they were feeding you amazing brain instead! Seriously Hermione, when I go back later I shall be sure to tell everyone with ears!"

Hermione groaned but secretly revelled in Ginny's praise, "Please don't, knowing the way rumours spread it will end up as something like I decapitated Lucius with a mobile phone disguised as a table."

Ginny giggled and grabbed the camera from under the bed, "Probably. Let's see what you got, then."

Hermione spent the next half hour telling Ginny all the important bits from the mission, such as the codes she overheard, the position of the secret door and Lucius' odd notes on her. When Ginny heard about those, she frowned.

"You're right; I think there is something fishy going on there. The answers will all be on the laptop, of course. I wish we could just get that damn password!"

Hermione wished the same, and she promised herself that she would dedicate the next few weeks into discovering the passcode. It wouldn't be easy, she knew. But if there was one thing she was known for, it was her stubbornness.

It was her stubbornness that would also drive her to find out Draco's true feelings towards her. Of course, she could use a little bit of help from Ginny.

"By the way, Ginny, I overheard Blaise and Draco talking about me. Basically, Blaise was asking why Draco ran after he kissed me, Draco said I was a boring frizzy-haired bookworm that no one could ever fancy, Blaise said he didn't believe Draco actually thought that, Draco got mad and yelled about how he actually really likes me and he would move mountains to kiss me again and Blaise said that he should be telling me this."

Ginny stared at her with an open mouth for a few seconds, before pouncing on her and shaking her.

"You talked about boring codes and paperwork when there was this little piece of information you needed to share with me?!" Ginny yelled, "Why the hell didn't you wake me up last night and tell me about it straight away? This is major news!"

Hermione cringed and gently pushed Ginny off of her. "I didn't know it was that important." She muttered, instantly regretting it when she saw a look of pure rage pass across Ginny's features.

"Hermione Jean Granger, when a boy admits he would move mountains just for another kiss from you, _you bloody well tell your best friend so that she can inform you exactly how to act and what to say so you don't look like an idiot! _I swear you skipped the teenage years completely and went straight to adulthood; you have no idea how to be a normal teenage girl!" Ginny ranted.

Hermione grinned, "You wouldn't love me if I were a normal teenage girl."

Ginny's face softened and she sat herself down next to Hermione. "I know, but still. I'm leaving tonight and I need to make sure you won't mess things up with Draco because you misread the signals. Whilst the mission is very important, Hermione, I value your happiness far above it and I genuinely think Draco has the ability to make you happy."

Hermione sighed deeply, "We're on opposite sides of a war, Ginny, both of us fighting for opposite things. Do you think anybody at all would accept our relationship if they knew who I really was? Do you think Draco would? I'm hardwired to be a strategic, ruthless assassin and I don't think that is what he needs."

Ginny rubbed her arms soothingly, "In the end Hermione, so is he. Just remember that."

Hermione gave her a small smile and got up and walked over to the door, "I have to go tutor him now. You coming?"

Nodding Ginny got up and followed her out of the room.

On the way there, Blaise appeared around a corner and grabbed Ginny, smirking down at her as he did. "There is no way we are sitting through a French lesson on your last day here. Come on; let's take the horses around for a spin. Is that alright with you, Hermione?"

Pushing down her fear at being alone with Draco, Hermione plastered on a fake smile, "Of course, you two go and have fun."

Blaise grinned and pulled her in for a hug, whispering quietly in her ear, "He's an idiot, but he's the best idiot I know. Just give him a chance."

Hermione smiled genuinely at him. Behind all their squabbling, Blaise and Draco loved each other like brothers and defended each other until the bitter end.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned from the couple and walked towards the library, mentally preparing herself. She knew she couldn't reveal that she had heard anything Draco had said the night before, as she wasn't actually supposed to know. She just hoped she was good enough an actress to pull it off.

Walking into the library, Hermione scanned the room for Draco. He wasn't sitting at their normal table, so Hermione assumed that he was browsing books.

She walked towards a large bookshelf and was just about to go around the corner when she was suddenly spun around and a hard body was pressing her into the bookshelf. She looked up and saw the beautiful silvery pools of Draco' eyes staring down at her, his mouth pulled into his infamous smirk.

"Hello, love." He murmured, tracing circles into her arms with his thumbs. "Alone at last, did you like my way of getting rid of Blaise and that annoying red-head you call a best friend?"

Hermione glared up at him, causing his smirk to deepen, "That was you? I thought Blaise wanted to spend time with Ginny as it was her last day."

"Trust me, love. Blaise had no complaints."

Hermione scowled at him, ignoring the part of her brain that was ecstatic over his new nickname for her.

He chuckled, the vibrations rolling into Hermione's chest, "You do look adorable when you scowl, but I much prefer it when you are smiling. Won't you smile for me, Hermione?"

Under the full weight of his seductive charms, Hermione was finding it harder and harder to stay angry with him, but she persevered. "Why should I smile when you ran away after kissing me? Am I really that bad of a kisser?"

Draco chuckled again and his hand left her arm to gently caress her face, pushing stray curls of hair out of her eyes. "Quite the opposite, I assure you. I meant what I said; Blaise's efforts to make me jealous did work and I find myself no longer able to deny my attraction towards you. Though if I am being truly honest with myself my feelings for you surpassed mere attraction two weeks ago. The only question is; are you attracted to me?"

Hermione debated denying her own feeling towards him, but when she was the raw, boyish hope in his eyes she found she could no longer try and hide it from herself either. "Yes," she whispered, "I feel so happy that you-" she was cut off by Draco crashing his lips into hers.

This kiss was everything; all of their emotions, all of their feelings mixing together. Draco showed her how much he cared about her through tenderly cupping her face with one hand and the back of her neck with the other, caressing and stroking her hair lovingly. He showed her how much he desired her through his hard body pressing into her, his knee nudging her legs apart and his growing erection poking into her stomach.

Hermione showed him everything, how much she cared about him, her anger and sadness when he ran away from her and her happiness that he came back to her. The kiss left her dizzy and weak in the knees, and as she felt the adoring way Draco worshipped her lips, she considered that she might actually be falling for him.

* * *

**There you go! Loads of drama in that chapter! Please remember to review and you shall get a sneak-peak. I really hope you enjoyed** **and I shall see you all again soon;)**

**GoldieXx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I am so sorry guys. I know I didn't send people sneak-peaks and it is because I literally just moved house and my internet has been down for weeks. Anyway, I'm back up and running now. Thanks to all who reviewed, please continue to do so. I own nothing;( and on with the story! By the way, I know I kind of scrapped the whole song thing but I just think that Demons by ImagineDragon goes very well with this.**

* * *

Ginny wiped away a tear as the taxi drove down the winding lane away from Malfoy Manor. Hermione, Blaise and Draco were still waving madly at her from the front door, and she could still faintly hear Blaise's proclamations of his love for her. However, the sound got quieter and quieter until it disappeared entirely underneath the hum of the car engine.

"The helicopter's just five miles away, miss. It's waiting to take you back to Scotland," said the portly taxi driver/Phoenix agent driving the car. She thanked him and lent back against the hard leather, putting in her headphones.

As the latest pop tunes blasted into her ears, she mused on the past few weeks. Her budding romance with Blaise; her pride at Hermione's budding romance with Draco; her happiness at how well the mission was going.

Despite what Hermione thought; the mission was going incredibly well. It had only been a matter of weeks and Hermione had successfully located the entrance to the underground lab, discovered top secret files and was well on her way to cracking the code to Lucius' computer. Ginny knew that Hermione didn't see it that way; she thought that she was doing badly.

Hermione had always been a massive over-achiever; she couldn't see how much good she'd already done. For all her brains, when it came to herself Hermione was surprisingly obtuse; she was fixated on how she hadn't yet got Lucius' code and not that she'd escaped being caught be Lucius himself where much older, more experienced agents wouldn't have known what to do. Ginny knew she didn't give herself nearly enough credit; so she made up her mind to tell anyone who would listen how brilliant Hermione truly was.

Ginny was slightly shocked at her own thoughts; usually she would be looking to advance her own standing. She was a perfectly nice person but ambitious and always looking for recognition. Having six older brothers will do that to you.

She mused on her sudden decision to sing Hermione's name in praise and finally settled on Blaise as the answer. Her dear, sweet Blaise had finally taught her an insy-bit of humility. It was terribly cliché, she knew, but from the first second Ginny had seen Blaise she had known that he was a kindred spirit.

Being an ambitious girl she had obviously dived headfirst with no regard to the fact that they were on opposite sides of a war. In her mind, that didn't matter. Sure, she had been taught over thirty types of martial arts and how to make a bomb out of the contents of a bin; but the first lesson she had been taught was that love is the most powerful emotion in this world. When the sky burns and the ground crumbles down to hell, the last thing you would do is tell your loved ones that you love them; not tell your enemies that you hate them.

Ginny knew that things between her and Blaise had the potential to go completely wrong; as another lesson she had been taught was the truth has a funny way of revealing itself at the most annoying moments. She had plenty of secrets and she didn't doubt that Blaise did as well. She didn't know anything about his childhood; whenever she asked about his parents he clammed up completely and a foreign hate slithered into his normally bright, happy eyes.

Whatever it was, she could tell that it had hurt him and she didn't want him to hurt. She wanted him to live a life full of light. There was more to life than a dark profession; there was love and friendship, ice-cream and dancing. Ginny knew he had a dark past and she wanted to erase it with beautiful places, beautiful music and her own devotion.

Something in his eyes told her that he felt the same way about her, that he wanted to protect her from the darkness surrounding him. If only he knew about what she was, what she was trained to do, then he would know that it wasn't only his darkness that they needed protecting from.

Sucking in a breath, Ginny refocused on the scenery whizzing by her. She did not want to walk down that particular path of memory lane. Some things were better left in the dark. She instead turned her thoughts to wondering what would happen when she got back.

Do doubt she would be drained of every scrap of information by the higher-ups; they would want to know exactly what had been going on. She decided to blur the details of her and Blaise's relationship; they would not be happy with that.

Her phone buzzed inside her pocket and she pulled it out. A text from Hermione popped up on the screen: 'He kissed me again earlier'

"Fucking hell!" Ginny swore loudly, causing the driver to swerve suddenly.

"Watch it," he growled. She barely muttered an apology before she sent a reply: 'What the hell? Why didn't you tell me instantly?'

Hermione's next text was slow to come, and Ginny could almost see the sheepish expression that would be on her face. 'Because I knew you would react like this.'

'Damn right, tell me exactly what happened!'

'He cornered me in the library, said he wanted to stop denying his feelings and kissed me.'

'Bloody hell.'

'I know right. By the way, Blaise misses you already. He's moping on a sofa.'

Ginny smiled to herself, she missed him too. 'Tell him I love him and if he wants it to stay that way, he'll text me. I know he's allergic to his phone, but I take priority.'

'He can't turn it on.'

Ginny rolled her eyes, Blaise plus phone equals disaster. She had no idea why he hated his phone so much, but it was like he was scared it would bite his hand off.

Another text from Hermione popped up, 'Draco wants to know where you get your hair-dye, he says he might try the 'carrot-top' look.'

She smirked; Draco and she had developed a relationship based on sarcasm and wit. They both pretended to hate each other, but Ginny knew that there was an underlying layer of mutual respect on their ability to hold their own in a battle of wits. 'Tell him it's from the same place he got his vampire-skin foundation.'

'He says fuck off'

Ginny grinned, 'That means I won.'

The car turned off the main road onto a mud track and Ginny saw her signal rapidly depleting.

'Got to go, tell Blaise I love him and tell Draco that the carrot-top look would suit him'

'Blaise says he loves you and Draco says fuck off. Again.'

Ginny giggled and switched off her phone as the car pulled into a large field here a helicopter was waiting for them.

Ginny thanked the driver and grabbed her suitcase out of the back of the car before making her way over to the helicopter. As she climbed in she saw two people already seated on the small bench. One of them looked very old with a long, white beard and half-moon spectacles, whilst the other was a tall, thin man with black hair and a hook nose who looked to be in his mid-thirties.

"Hello Ginevra, how are you today?" the old man asked her with a secretive smile on his face. Ginny reckoned he was the higher-up that would quiz her. She didn't know who the other man was, though.

"I am well thank you sir, and yourself?" she said politely, sitting down opposite to the two men.

"Oh, good thank you. Although I did run out of sherbet lemons on the way here." He smiled again wistfully and looked at her with twinkling eyes.

Ginny wasn't exactly sure how to respond, so she simple nodded and changed the conversation, "I assume you are here to ask me about the mission?"

The old man nodded, "Yes, as well as another topic we shall discuss later. For now, I suggest you put on your headphones as the helicopter is about to take off."

Ginny did as he instructed and put on the headphones, as well as strapping herself properly into the seat. When they were quite high, the old man spoke again. "I cannot tell you our real names, Ginevra, but for now you may call me Godric Gryffindor and this gentlemen here Salazar Prince."

Ginny nodded and mentally catalogued the names.

"Now, please tell us what Hermione has discovered so far." Godric said, eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.

Ginny coughed nervously, "Well, sir, she has managed to hack into Lucius's personal laptop, but she hasn't yet discovered the passcode. It changes every day and appears to be completely random. She has also discovered one of the entrances to the underground lab but she still needs the code, which she thinks will be stored in Lucius' computer. She found Lucius' hard copy of her file, and found some strange things in there. Lucius wrote that she could be a valuable asset but due to strong morals may also prove a threat. He also said she has a strong physical resemblance to '0285', do you have any idea what it means sir?"

Godric mumbled something under his breath and then spoke, "The part about a valuable asset will most likely be talking about whether or not Hermione could be initiated into the Slytherins."

"WHAT?!" shrieked Ginny, her hands flying to her mouth, "Hermione could never, she's one of us!"

"Of course she is," said Godric, "but do you really blame Lucius for considering her? She is smart, knows martial arts and can speak multiple languages. I have to say, I am glad she is on our side!" he chuckled at his own joke.

The man sitting next to him gave a mildly disapproving look but said nothing. His silence was beginning to bug Ginny.

"What about '0285'? Do you know anything about that?" asked Ginny.

Godric gave her a strange look, "No, Ginevra, I do not."

Something in Ginny's gut told her that Godric was lying and she had always been taught never to ignore a gut feeling. She didn't press the matter however; she had a feeling that Godric would not tell her anyway.

"Now," announced Godric cheerily, "on to our second order of business. You are probably wondering what Salazar is doing here. He is a spy."

Ginny snorted, "With all due respect, we're all spies sir."

Godric looked amused for a second, "Yes Ginevra, well spotted. Salazar however is a different sort of spy. Hermione's kind of spy."

Ginny gasped, "You mean that he's also undercover?"

"Yes, Ginevra, but he is much deeper in the enemy's council. He has been amidst Voldemort's ranks for years, building up their trust and now he is Voldemort's right hand man. Voldemort believes that he is actually spying on us, but he only gives Voldemort certain information. Salazar is very important to our mission.

Ginny eyed him warily, spies turning on their own side wasn't unheard of and something about the dark man screamed untrustworthy. His aloof gaze suddenly fixed on her, and she felt distinctly uncomfortable. She wished Blaise was sitting next to her so she could grip his hand, but instead she took a deep breath and turned back to Godric.

"I'm sure he is, sir, but why are you telling me any of this?"

Godric smiled widely at her, "Because you need to tell Hermione that he's on our side. It would be far too risky for him to sneak her a message himself plus he probably wouldn't believe her anyway. You will fill Hermione in on who he is and what he intends to do."

"What does he intend to do?" asked Ginny, looking warily at Salazar.

"You don't trust me." Salazar stated, startling her. His voice was rich, sardonic and brimming with contempt for the world, as if he no longer cared about anything. Ginny narrowed her eyes; men with nothing to live for were the most dangerous.

"With all due respect, sir, I've known you all of five minutes and you've only said four words to me. I don't tend to trust people who are closed off to the rest of the world."

"Then you are stupid and naïve. We are spies; it's our job to be closed off." he drawled lazily, not even looking at her. Ginny riled in anger at his blatant lack of respect.

"You speak to me as if I am nothing more than an ignorant child."

He scoffed, "That is exactly what you are, girl. In the meantime, you will learn to trust me."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "I will learn to trust you when you learn to respect me."

"Respect is earned, Miss Weasley. What have you done to earn my respect?"

"What have you done to earn my trust?"

"Alright you two," Godric interrupted, "we are not here to argue. Miss Weasley, you will respect him because he is one of our top agents and has done much to further our efforts. And _you_, Salazar, will respect her because she is the daughter of Molly and Arthur Weasley and is also a spy in the field. Even you must admit that at eighteen it is an enormous privilege to be active in the field. Especially with a mission of the calibre; I would say Miss Weasley is second only to Hermione and you yourself."

Salazar scowled and turned away, his eyes full of loathing. Ginny wondered what had happened to make him so full of hate. Sighing, Godric turned towards Ginny.

"I fear that we shall soon be landing so this delightful little conversation must come to an end. However, I expect your presence in my office at 8pm sharp this evening. We shall wrap things up then."

Ginny nodded and turned to look out of the window, gazing at the passing mountains of Scotland.

* * *

"…but she didn't give up, oh no. She called the Manor's phone number just in the nick of time! She was a millisecond away from discovery but our brilliant Hermione lived up to the brain-bot name."

The audience of younger children sat around Ginny listening raptly to her tales. She had dimmed the lights and put on a scary voice just for effect; she couldn't help it she was naturally dramatic.

"What happened then?" A small girl whispered, fear and awe struck across her face.

"Well," Ginny smirked, "whilst Lucius was on the phone she snuck out of the room and then proceeded to ransack his office for any valuable information."

"What information?" another girl gushed.

Ginny shook her head, "Sorry, can't tell you. It's top secret; you never know who could be listening!"

There was a chorus of groans and Ginny chuckled as she shooed them out of the room. Stretching her arms she glanced at the wall, she still had forty-five minutes until she was needed in Godric's office. She decided to go and say hi to her assortment of brothers.

The twins were easy enough to find; they were goofing off in the library. They seemed to have started an odd competition of flicking bits of paper at the other people studying there without being noticed. When they noticed her they grinned widely and hugged her.

"Ginny! It's so good to-"

"-see you! We want to know-"

"-absolutely everything. You can start with-"

"-telling us about your-"

"-fancy new boyfriend!" They chorused in their odd mismatched sentences.

Ginny groaned and held her head in her hands, "How on earth do you know about that?"

"Ronald, of course!" they said at exactly at the same time.

Gritting her teeth, she looked up at her two goofy brothers. They didn't seem to care about her relationship with Blaise, but then again they didn't care about much outside the joke-shop. "I'm going to kill him. Do the others know?"

They both nodded and Fred, or George, said "Yes, and there were mixed reactions. Mum thinks it's sweet; Dad agrees with Mum; Percy grunted and went back to reading."

Ginny chuckled, "What about Bill and Charlie?"

George, or Fred, grimaced, "They didn't take it too well. We think they're in the gym at the moment; you should probably avoid them for a few days."

Ginny groaned again, "That bad?"

"Yep. They think you've been possessed."

Sighing, Ginny knew that it would be best to face her brothers now. They were like her; anger only increased over time. Saying goodbye to the twins she slowly made her way over to the gym hoping that playing the little sister card would work.

Both Bill and Charlie had been quite a bit older when she had been born; meaning that the sibling animosity between them was a lot less than that of, say, her and Ron. They still had their fair share of arguments like any siblings, but Bill and Charlie adored their little sister and were more protective over her than her Dad.

Entering the gym, she quickly spotted them sparring on the mats and took a deep breath before approaching them. As soon as they caught sight of her, they ceased fighting and stood with equally unimpressed looks on their faces. After a while, Ginny coughed to try and relieve the tension. When that didn't work, she spoke.

"Um, hi guys. How are you?" she said nervously.

Bill raised an eyebrow and Charlie snorted, "I hardly think how we are matters right now. What I want to know is for how long you continue to see that filthy Slytherin?"

"Hey!" growled Ginny, "Blaise is _not _a Slytherin and I don't think he wants to become one either. He's a good man."

"Yes, a good man," said Bill, "a good man that will mysteriously turn bad and you will get hurt. All because you were stupid enough to trust a sly, conniving little-"

"Why are you with him?" Charlie interrupted, "Is it to prove a point? Leverage? Explain exactly your motives."

Ginny scowled and shoved her hands in her pockets, "I don't have any motives. I like Blaise and he likes me, there's nothing more to it. I'm not in any danger and quite frankly I will continue to date him even if you don't like it."

Bill audibly growled and Charlie pulled him back, "You go mate, I'll deal with this."

Bill nodded and stormed out of the gym. Hermione sighed; Charlie was the mellower of the two and would be easier to persuade.

"Listen Ginny," he said gently, "even if you don't know it, you are in danger. Whether or not this Blaise guy intends to hurt you, it is inevitable one way or the other. I am content to let you make your own decisions as long as you are fully aware of the potential consequences. Tell me truthfully; can you deal with the consequences?"

"Yes!" Ginny said hurriedly, "Absolutely!"

Charlie nodded slowly and pulled her in for a hug. "I missed you, Gin. Now go and hug Bill, no doubt he's regretting his harsh words."

Ginny nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Ginny?" Charlie called, "If Blaise does hurt you, I will gut him like a fish." he said in a completely calm, completely deadly voice. Ginny gulped and nodded.

* * *

"Ugh, I _hate _Salazar-bloody-Prince!" Ginny groaned, collapsing into her bed in the dorms.

Lavender glance up from painting her nails, "That's an odd name, who's he?"

"A completely annoying _prick _who treats me like a pile of shit. I had to debrief him on what Hermione's achieved because he's going to Malfoy Manor tomorrow. The name is just a cover."

Lavender nodded and inspected her nails again, "So, what's with Hermione and that Draco dude. He was _hot!_"

Ginny frowned, after having met Draco she couldn't really see past his arrogance. "I think they're together, I don't know. When I left they were both in denial about their feelings but according to Hermione Draco opened up to her and now they are all sunshine and rainbows. I hope so; because I put loads of effort into making sure she looked beautiful."

Lavender nodded, "She did look amazing at the party. It was very _un-Hermione _like. I really like her necklace, where did you get that?"

"I didn't, it was a gift to Hermione from Draco."

Lavender gasped, "But you said that they were in denial about their feelings! Boy buying girl a necklace does kind of equate to romance."

Ginny shook her head, "No, the necklace was a 'sorry you almost got raped' present."

"_Hermione got raped?_"

"No! She almost got raped. She managed to get away though."

Lavender gave an audible sigh of relief, "That's good, especially because Hermione hasn't actually ever done it before."

"That's not a bad thing, Lavender." Ginny said defensively.

"Wait a minute, are you a virgin?" Lavender exclaimed in shock causing Ginny to huff in irritation.

"Yes, I never felt the need to do it with any of my previous boyfriends."

"I remember Seamus saying that he slept with you."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Don't believe half of the stuff that Seamus says; a bit of groping behind the shed does not equal full on shagging."

Lavender giggled, "Wait a minute; you said with any of your _previous _boyfriends, does that mean you want to do it with Blaise?"

Ginny blushed, something she rarely ever did, "I never said that. I mean, I can picture Blaise and I in a proper long-term relationship and that would eventually lead to sleeping together, but I'm talking about way into the future."

"I'm not sure those older brothers of yours will approve." Lavender teased, still giggling, "Seriously though, that whole 'protective older brother' thing they have going is extremely hot!"

"Ewww!" groaned Ginny, chucking a pillow at Lavender. "Bill's _engaged_ as well! And I'm pretty sure Charlie's not interested in a relationship right now."

"Well what about your other brothers?"

"Ugh, this is a conversation I so do not want to be having. If you really want to know, I wouldn't go for Percy because he's Percy and surprisingly already has a girlfriend and I wouldn't touch the twins with a barge-pole. Wait a minute, aren't you dating Ron anyway?"

Now it was Lavender's turn to blush, "Well, yeah, I guess so. I've liked him for quite a long time, it's just I know Hermione also really liked him. She tried to hide it, but I could see right through that. I didn't want to create conflict, but with her away it just kind of happened. I just really hope Hermione doesn't get hurt as a result."

"It's alright, Lav," said Ginny gently, "I think Hermione's moved on. Besides, she already knows and she doesn't blame you. I think meeting Draco has made her realise that Ron isn't the only guy out there. I don't know how Ron became the love interest of two girls though; personally I don't see the appeal."

Lavender laughed and got up to hug Ginny, "Thanks, Gin. I would hate to be the reason for Hermione's heartache, so I'm glad she's moved onto someone better for her."

Ginny smiled, before yawning loudly. "I'm exhausted, I'm gonna go to sleep now."

Lavender nodded and went back to her own bed. Ginny checked her phone before she went to sleep and she saw one text:

'Sleep really well, beautiful. I'll sleep well because I'll be dreaming of youXx'

Ginny smiled sleepily to herself.

* * *

**There you have it folks! Please review for a sneak-peak and I shall see you all soon!**

**GoldieXx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sup! Um, I hate this chapter. It's short, boring and more of a bridge to the next, more exciting chapter. However, I feel it had to be done. Some interesting stuff does happen, but the next is much more amazing. Thanks to all who reviewed and I know I didn't send out a sneak-peak, but the internet at my new house is non-existent and I'm posting this at the library. Hopefully BT will get their stuff together in time for the next chapter! I've also gone back and re-edited the first two chapters; it's just some minor stuff that makes it a tiny bit better. I aim to re-edit all of them. Anyways, please review, I hope you enjoy this **_**delightful **_**chapter and on with the story!**

**PS: I own nothing apart from the plot and things get a tiny bit steamy in this chapter. Not that I hear you guys complaining! I swear you're only here for the Dramione action…**

* * *

Hermione plonked down on the sofa next to Draco having just waved goodbye to Ginny. Blaise was still outside professing his undying love for Ginny and Hermione listened to him, sighing deeply.

"I'm going to really miss her." She said.

"I know," Draco replied, "but I can't say that I will!"

Hermione snorted and elbowed him lightly in the stomach. He pretended to double over in pain and looked at her with mock-wide eyes, "You nearly killed me!"

She giggled and flicked away a piece of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes, her fingertips lingering slightly over his forehead. His beautiful grey eyes darkened and he instantly had her pinned underneath him on the sofa.

As his lips crashed down onto hers, all worries that they might be caught by Blaise were pushed to the side. Draco was an _extremely _good kisser and his talented lips had a magical effect of wiping away all of her concerns.

Not that she had much experience kissing him; this was only their fourth kiss. The first was at the party, the second in the library and the third a stolen moment behind a pillar whilst Blaise wasn't looking. One thing they had both made quite clear was that they both didn't feel quite ready to share their new relationship just yet.

Obviously this didn't include Ginny, and Hermione wanted to make sure that she was far away from the hormonal red-head when that came to light. Hermione had told Draco that it was his decision whether or not they told Blaise and Draco had made it clear that he wanted to tell him rather than him catching them.

In light of this thought, Hermione just managed to shove Draco off of her when Blaise came in, mournfully dragging his feet behind him.

"You look like a lost puppy, mate." Draco sniggered, surreptitiously running a hand through his hair to remove evidence of tousling.

Blaise, however, looked so sorrowful that Hermione reckoned he wouldn't have noticed Lucius in pigtails; whilst flower-arranging in a French-maid's outfit and red stilettos.

"I miss her so much!" Blaise wailed dramatically, flinging himself down on the sofa opposite.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Why don't you just text her?"

Scowling Blaise chucked his phone at her, "The bloody thing doesn't work!"

"Fine, I'll text her." Hermione muttered. _I think she's far away enough now that I can tell her about myself and Draco now…_

Taking a deep breath, Hermione sent the text 'He kissed me again earlier' to Ginny. Barely a moment later, she got a reply.

'What the hell? Why didn't you tell me instantly?'

Hermione winced slightly; she didn't want to be there to witness Ginny's anger first-hand.

'Because I knew you would react like this.'

'Damn right, tell me exactly what happened!'

Hermione sighed and decided to keep it short and sweet, 'He cornered me in the library, said he wanted to stop denying his feelings and kissed me.'

'Bloody hell.' was her reply. Hermione giggled and shook her head.

"What're you giggling about?" asked Blaise, still moping.

"Just a text conversation with Ginny."

"Tell her I miss her, would you?"

Hermione nodded and sent the text, 'I know right. By the way, Blaise misses you already. He's moping on a sofa.'

'Tell him I love him and if he wants it to stay that way, he'll text me. I know he's allergic to his phone, but I take priority.'

Hermione snorted, 'He can't turn it on.'

"Her fiery attitude, sweet nature, beautiful red hair…" Blaise moaned, sniffing pathetically. Draco looked at him, clearly unimpressed.

"Come on, mate! Anyone could rock the carrot-top look. However I didn't get a chance to ask her where she got her hair-dye from."

Hermione grinned evilly before sending another text to Ginny, 'Draco wants to know where you get your hair-dye, he says he might try the 'carrot-top' look.'

'Tell him it's from the same place he got his vampire-skin foundation.' came the reply.

"She got her hair-dye from the same place you got you vampire-skin foundation, Draco." Hermione giggled.

"Tell her to fuck off." He replied, and she did.

'That means I won.' Ginny texted back.

Chuckling, Hermione relayed the message to Draco. He scowled and was in the middle of cussing when another text from Ginny popped up, 'Got to go, tell Blaise I love him and tell Draco that the carrot-top look would suit him'

Hermione smiled and turned to Blaise, "She says she loves you, oh and that Draco would look good as a ginger."

"I love her too."

"Fuck off!"

Sending a glare at Draco, Hermione sent her final text. 'Blaise says he loves you and Draco says fuck off. Again.'

Smiling at her phone, Hermione tried not to dwell on the fact that she would not see her best friend again for some while. However, Blaise seemed to be dwelling on it far too much as he was sighing and had started to pace about the room, muttering under his breath.

Draco scowled at him and turned to Hermione, "I'm not going to sit here and watch him weep over the ginger, do you want to go to the gym with me?"

Hermione nodded, "Let me just get changed and I'll meet you there."

* * *

After an hour on the treadmill Hermione's legs were aching in a deliciously familiar way and she stumbled over to the water dispenser, unused to the ground being still. As she drank she heard Draco turn his own machine off and walk over to where she was standing. With his tousled hair and tight T-shirt clinging to his muscles from sweat, he certainly was a sight for sore eyes.

Hermione realised too late that he had noticed her blatantly checking him out and now he was sporting a huge, arrogant grin. Rolling her eyes, she tried to dispel her embarrassment by shoving on his arm lightly and turning around to go over to the rowing machine.

She never made it that far though, Draco had her spun around and pinned against the wall before she could even register what was happening. His lips were against hers once more, his actions rough and wild.

Against her better judgement Hermione moaned and arched into him. This seemed to spur him on as his hands that were previously on her shoulder had gone down to her hips and his thumbs were tracing circles there. His lips left hers and trailed to her jawbone, tracing it with his tongue and sucking lightly on her earlobe.

His hand crept up to just below her breasts and his knee pushed in between her legs, forcing them apart. Hermione was suddenly very aware of something hard poking into her belly.

Gasping slightly, she pushed him off of her and her hand flew to her chest, trying to get her heaving ribcage under control. Draco stumbled backwards slightly and looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

"Draco, I'm sorry but I'm not going to do that with you on our first day together. Especially not against the wall of a gym whilst we are both stinky and sweaty!"

Understanding replaced the hurt in his eyes and he nodded, "Of course, Hermione. I wasn't planning on taking it that far but I have to admit you do drive me slightly crazy!"

Blushing heavily, Hermione offered him a small smile, "I think we should stick to just kissing, already I think we're taking things a bit too fast. Let's just slow down and enjoy this."

Draco nodded again and he grinned at her, "Believe me, I plan to. By the way, it's Sunday so we're having a formal dinner with my parents."

Hermione agreed and went over to the rowing machine, contemplating what had just happened. Obviously, she wasn't planning on doing _that _with Draco anytime soon but that didn't mean she couldn't kiss him.

She suddenly realised how different the situation was. A few weeks ago, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't even let herself be friends with Draco and now they were in a relationship? Hermione knew that there was no getting out of it now; she was in way to deep.

Draco laughed and joked with her on the way back to her room, obviously trying to destroy the wall of blatant awkwardness between them. Hermione smiled secretly at his efforts; even if they weren't all that effective. He seemed like the kind of guy who could get laid whenever he felt like it due to his good looks, but Hermione wanted to know more about him first. She didn't want him for his good looks; those were merely a bonus.

He clearly didn't mind all that much that she wouldn't instantly leap into bed with him as he was trying so hard to cover up his mistake. Hermione found that cutely enduring. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before going and changing into a nice purple dress.

Dinner was a delicious buffet of Mediterranean sea-food with white wine and crepes for dessert. After dinner Lucius insisted that they all retire to the library for after-dinner drinks and conversation.

Having been handed a brandy each they all split into smaller groups and quietly talked. Draco was trying to lighten Blaise's mood by talking about football whilst Narcissa read quietly in a chair by the fire. Hermione found herself talking to Lucius.

Even though he was a prominent member of the Slytherins and a high-end drug-lord, Hermione couldn't deny that Lucius made for fine conversation. For the past half hour they had been discussing immigration issues in Britain and a friendly debate had sprung up on whether or not immigration should become illegal.

"I wonder, Miss Rivers, do you play chess?" Lucius asked, gesturing to the fancy chess set sitting on the coffee table, "I happen to be quite a keen player myself and if your chess skills are as good as your debating skills than I fear I might have a rather formidable opponent.

Hermione smiled politely, "I have played a few times, Mr Malfoy, but I do not claim to be an expert."

"Still, would you grant me a game?"

She nodded and moved over to the chess set, placing herself on the side of the white pieces whilst Lucius chose Black. He handed her a piece of paper and a pencil, both expensive looking, and explained, "I believe that one should always record all moves made in the game, it makes for a fascinating study."

Taking the pencil and paper he offered her she looked at him curiously, "Do you pay chess often then? I have only head of professionals noting down all the moves made in the game for later revision."

He grinned, "I am somewhat of an avid player but I am not a professional. I enjoy a game every evening; it helps me to exercise the more strategic, logical part of my brain before I go to sleep. Chess is a battle on a wooden board, Miss Rivers; it is so much more than simply a game."

Hermione nodded and proceeded to play against him. In the end, he won rather easily and Hermione took to bed with her a long list of all the moves that had been made by both of them.

* * *

The morning found Hermione staring at the laptop screen, hunched over leaning on her arms, Hermione chewed her lip in confusion. Ron had taught her how to get the password from the previous day and she had done so:

G7G3A4B6

She also had the password for the day before that:

C8A8D3H7

Couple that with the first password they had discovered, D4F5G7B7, and Hermione had discovered enough to be even more confused about the coding behind each new password.

Each time it was seemingly random, perhaps created by a computer. But that just raised the question how did Lucius get the new password safely? No, it was done manually every morning by Lucius himself.

However, Hermione had noticed that there was a distinct pattern. Firstly: it always went letter, number four times. Secondly: the numbers only went up to eight and the letters only went up to H. If the code was completely random, Lucius would use all the letters in the alphabet and multiple different numbers. There was clearly a method behind it and Hermione could feel the answer lurking behind a layer of fog in her mind.

Groaning, Hermione stood and wondered about her room, willing her brain to make the connection. Absentmindedly, she started putting away her outfit from the previous night which she had draped over a chair. As she lifted the dress, a piece of paper floated to the floor.

Picking it up, Hermione saw that it was the list of chess moves from her game with Lucius the previous evening. She crumpled it up and threw it in the bin, she honestly didn't know why Lucius recorded all the moves; it was a waste of time in her opinion.

Suddenly she stopped and turned towards the bin slowly. Taking the paper out and reading it over carefully, Hermione allowed a large grin to spread across her face; she had found the answer.

Lucius had said that he played every evening; that meant that he could change the password every morning based on the game of the previous evening. He would then choose two moves, like G7 to G3 and A4 to B6 to create a new password. That meant that the password for that day was on the sheet of paper somewhere, but Hermione knew she couldn't go through every possible combination.

She would have to play Lucius again that evening, recording the moves made whilst she did it. Then the next day she would discover the current password and see if there was a pattern she could use to finally hack into Lucius' laptop.

Grinning madly, she leapt up and threw some clothes on, rushing down to breakfast. As expected, Lucius was there.

Schooling her features into a mask of normality she sat down at the table and nibbled at some toast.

"Good morning Miss Rivers, I trust you slept well?" Lucius asked.

She smiled at him, "I did thank you sir. Playing a game like chess really does help to relax your brain ready for sleep."

Lucius smirked arrogantly, "I did tell you, I wonder if you would like to play again tonight?"

Hermione smiled serenely, "It would be a pleasure."

* * *

**Yes, I know it's short, but it's necessary for the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please drop a review for a sneak-peak! If my internet decides to work…;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sup guys! Whew, things have been hectic around here! Firstly, I'm in Wales on holiday! Secondly, my bathroom broke just before we came out here! Those are my excuses for this late chapter and I hope they are adequate. Now, I am currently writing another story for Dramione, this one is light-hearted and fluffy, so if there is anything you want to see in it please let me know, I shall reveal now that it takes place in a hotel in Italy… **

**Thanks to reviewers, I am continuing the sneak-peak reward system so please review, and on with the story! I own nothing part from the plot so don't sue me!**

* * *

That night as Hermione played chess Lucius, she meticulously wrote down every single move making sure to get everything correct. She noticed Lucius looking at her with an appraising eye and she inwardly smirked; for such a sly man he was blinded by his sexism. He didn't at all think that she could possibly be a spy.

That was fine for Hermione; it meant that once she got the passcode to the underground lab and worked out a more functional entrance, she could call in Harry and his team. A thought kept niggling her brain that she would then have to leave Draco, but she decided to cross that bridge when she came to it.

Lucius beat her again, but she was too excited to care. He had just handed her the key to the information that would ultimately lead to his downfall. Rushing upstairs, she carefully locked the sheet of paper alongside the previous one inside a draw and placed the key in an empty bottle of moisturiser. Jumping into bed, she willed herself to go to sleep.

The next morning she awoke at half past seven and promptly jumped onto her computer. Hurriedly discovering the password from the previous day, F6F8D3E4, she unlocked the draw and grabbed the first sheet of paper.

Scanning through it, her heart almost stopped when she saw those moves; the fourteenth move of both players. Opening the files full of Lucius' documents she went down to the fourteenth moves, A2C4D7E7, and typed them into the computer; holding her breath in anticipation. It worked.

Hermione blew out the breath in astonishment. Roughly thirty files of Lucius' secrets were now available for her to browse through.

She carefully checked that everything was working before plugging in a USB that would keep the files open and available regardless of password changes.

Sitting back in her chair triumphantly, Hermione looked over the various folders. All of them were very clear, like 'Manor Plans' and 'Chemicals', but one folder labelled '0000' confused Hermione.

Opening it up, she saw hundreds of documents from 0001 to 0758. Something sprang into her mind, the digits 0285. Gulping nervously in hopeful anticipation, Hermione scrolled down to the document 0285. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

She could never have prepared herself for what she saw. One name glared out of the screen and burned itself into her mind, one name she hadn't thought about for many years.

One name, she suspected, would change everything.

Jean Granger; her Mother's name.

Gasping in astonishment she quickly glanced over the rest of the file. It was the normal things: age, sex, birthday; but the bit at the bottom confused Hermione. It said 'Condition: seventeen days unsuccessful.' Hermione had absolutely no idea what it meant.

Looking through the other files, she saw similar things, only the number of days was slowly increasing. When she reached number 0723, it changed completely. It simply said 'Condition: unbalanced.'

Hermione went back to the main file page to see if there was any more information she could glean. One file named 'Subject Log' caught her eye and she opened it. Inside were many more files on all the numbers. Opening the one on her Mother she nearly fell of off her chair in surprise. There was a grotesque picture at the top of the document that was like something out of a horror film; black oozing skin with bulging eyes and a shrunken nose stared out at her. The name printed underneath was, again, Jean Granger.

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth as she attempted to work out the feelings of sorrow, repulsion and anger. When she felt tears leaking out of her eyes; she decided to shut her emotions off completely and read the passage below her Mother's name.

'_Subject number 0285 remained unresponsive for three days after the serum was injected, then on the fourth day the skin began to crack and ooze. Over the next ten days it was evident that the serum was unsuccessful at achieving its goal and on the seventeenth day the subject's life was terminated. The levels of Sodium Phosphate remain too high in the serum and Dr. Slughorn suggests adding a stabilising agent of some form to reduce swelling; but has yet to suggest what this chemical should be. Subject also appeared to have suffered before the experiment was run; this could have affected the outcome.'_

This time Hermione could not stop the tears leaking from her eyes. Her Mother was dead, having been injected with some form of serum and tested on. Hermione had never had a close relationship with her Mother, mostly down to her Father's abusiveness, but the shock was still there. Her Mother could have been dead for months now and Hermione wouldn't have known about it. She briefly wondered what had become of her Father, but she realised she didn't care. He was probably the reason her mother had been put in that situation.

Wiping away the tears, Hermione hardened her heart and moved down to subject 0722, the last to be classified as unsuccessful. Opening the file, the picture that greeted her was decidedly more human than that of her Mother, but the skin was still cracked and the eyes still held a sort of dazed madness. The name under it was 'Daniel Chetwode,' a name she did not recognise.

'_Subject number 0722 was only unresponsive for three minutes thirty-two seconds before he came back to consciousness. He showed positive signs of increased strength, senses and agility. After seventeen days it looked like we had finally succeeded, but the skin started to crack and ooze and ten days later the subject's life had to be terminated. According to Severus Snape it is the Sodium Phosphate that is to blame. However, this was suggested by Dr. Slughorn who swears it is necessary. An experiment shall be run without Sodium Phosphate and results shall be analysed.'_

Hermione mentally catalogued the information and went to the next subject, the first 'unbalanced.'

'_Subject number 0723 was given the serum without Sodium Phosphate and has to date no known cases of cracked skin or swelling. The subject still has heightened abilities due to the serum, but it has yet to be perfected. Tests will continue to run until success.'_

Hermione took a deep breath and went onto the last file, 0758. The picture that greeted her was decidedly human, but man looked fiercer than a normal person. His expression was twisted into a triumphant smirk and Hermione could see the long, sharp teeth behind is lips. His irises held a yellow tinge to them and his hair was wild and out of control. The name below it said 'Fenrir Greyback.'

'_Subject number 0758 is a success. He is three times as strong as an average human male; taller and with much more muscle mass. All senses have heightened significantly and the skin has hardened without cracking. Subject will make an ideal soldier and many more like him will be created. Dr. Slughorn admitted under the influence of the Veritaserum drug that he was intentionally suggesting the wrong ingredients to slow down progress of the experiment. He has been sentenced to torture under the Cruciatus drug and then death by the Avada Kedavra poison. Another scientist will be needed to take his place.'_

Hermione ran a shaking hand through her hair. None of it made any sense. Dumbledore had said that the Slytherins had not yet completed the three Death Eater potions and that was why she was here to stop them.

Going back she opened a file named Death Eaters and was presented with three documents on each of the potions. Opening the Imperius file she was utterly speechless to see that the date of creation was well over ten years ago, before the Order of the Phoenix had even the slightest idea about it. It was the same for the other two, and Hermione's questions only amplified in number.

She browsed through the files and opened one called 'Operations.' Inside there were a number of documents and he opened one labelled 'Scientists.'

Inside there was a list of names of the scientists supposedly working on whatever they were doing in the lab. Only, there was a dash through 'Dr. Slughorn' and underneath it were 'possible replacements.' Her name was the only name there.

It all clicked. The operation to create the Death Eaters didn't exist, or hadn't for well over ten years, it was just a cover for the actual operation. An operation that apparently required soldiers with amplified abilities. And they wanted her to work for them in creating these soldiers. Suddenly, Lucius' notes on her made a whole lot more sense.

Felling dizzy, Hermione yanked a disposable phone out of the draw and dialled Ron. He picked up on the second ring.

"Oh hi, 'Mione, what can I do for-"

"Not now Ron! Get me Dumbledore as fast as you can!" Hermione yelled into the phone.

"Jeez, Hermione, calm down! I'll link you to him now. Is everything alright?"

Ron's concerned voice only fuelled Hermione's anger and she began nervously tapping her feet on the floor, "Yes, Ronald, just get me Dumbledore!"

Two minutes later and the gentle voice of Dumbledore assaulted her ears, "Good morning my dear? I trust the mission is going well?"

"There is no mission! I just hacked onto Lucius' laptop and discovered that the three Death Eaters had been invented over a decade ago! It was just a cover, you see…"

Hermione told him everything she had discovered, all the files and all the information regarding the human test subjects. She told him about her suspicions of the greater plot and about how they wanted her to work for them. Dumbledore listened to it all in silence.

"…and so you see, the lab doesn't contain the Death Eaters, it contains human beings! Humans who have been tested on!" Hermione finished before taking a great gulp of air.

"Well Hermione," Dumbledore said gravely, "if what you are saying is true, then we need to get you out of the vicinity as soon as possible. This information is going to have to be dealt with very delicately, I'm afraid just destroying the lab will not help at all. I think that this is the endgame, my dear, and I think that it is approaching fast. How soon can you be out of there without raising too much suspicion?"

Hermione was about to answer, but suddenly she thought of Draco, of leaving him alone in the evil that resided in this house, and she found that she could not do it. "Actually, sir, I was thinking that maybe I could join them, and then we would have somebody on the inside. If you are right and the endgame is approaching, then the enemy seem mightily prepared for the oncoming war. We are going to need every advantage we can get out hands on."

"Hermione, no. It is simply too dangerous! Surely I don't need to remind you what goes on in there; you would be putting yourself in danger of getting killed. I cannot allow someone so talented to get hurt like that. Come back where it's safe."

Hermione grit her teeth and clenched her fists furiously, "With all due respect, sir, if you put all of you most talented agents out of harm's way then they cannot actually do anything and the chances of us winning this war become all the slimmer. It would take months to integrate a spy back into the Slytherins, time that we might not have. My safety is not more important than the safety of millions. Let me do this."

Dumbledore sighed deeply and when he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. "So much courage for one so young, Miss Granger. This is your choice and if you truly wish to help the cause, who am I to stop you?"

Hermione laughed in relief, "Thank you so much sir, I won't let you down!"

"I am sure you won't, Miss Granger. Just know this though; your chances of survival are equal to your chances of getting killed and I cannot guarantee your safety. You will be mostly on you own."

Hermione nodded grimly, even though Dumbledore couldn't see her, "Yes sir, I understand. Where should I start?"

"Lucius is very close to Tom Riddle, the leader of the Slytherins, so he would probably be a good place to start. I understand he already has a level of respect for you so it shouldn't be too difficult. My advice is spend a bit more time with him; show an interest in his work and ask if there is anything you could do to help. Tell him that you have an interest in working for Malfoy Industries full-time and hint at a love for research and science. Hopefully soon he will offer you the job. However, he will be looking for any soft-heartedness when you actually enter the room so just block your emotions and treat it like dissecting a frog at school."

Hermione grimaced but agreed nevertheless. A few more words were exchanged and Dumbledore wished her good luck before hanging up. Hermione threw the phone into the draw and collapsed down on her bed. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Going down to breakfast Hermione was in a very bad mood. The news of her mother's death coupled with the news of an oncoming war did not exactly sit well within her.

Storming into the kitchen, she plonked herself down on a stool and glared moodily at a nearby tap. Mrs Dobbs sidled up to her nervously, twiddling her thumbs.

"Is there anything I can get you, Madam?" she asked fretfully.

Looking up at Mrs Dobb's kind yet slightly fearful face Hermione felt her own face melt into a smile. "Please, call me Hermione. No thank you, I'm not actually all that hungry. Just had a bad night's sleep is all."

Mrs Dobbs nodded in understanding and patted Hermione on the shoulder, "Regardless of your hunger levels, hot chocolate is the best cure for a bad night's sleep! Hold on and I'll whip it up for you!"

Hermione smiled gratefully at the old woman and was reminded of Molly Weasley. The two shared a warm, motherly feeling and a desire to make everybody else feel at home. Mrs Weasley was decidedly louder and a bit bossier, though.

A few minutes later and Mrs Dobbs presented Hermione with a steaming mug of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and marshmallows.

"Thank you so much! You're very kind," said Hermione.

Mrs Dobbs smiled and blushed looking down at the floor. "It's nothing, Mi- Hermione. I'm glad to be of help to you."

Hermione was just about to answer when suddenly Mrs Dobbs squeaked in surprise and scuttled away. Hermione was not surprised to hear the rhythmic tapping of a walking cane coupled with the determined stride of leather boots.

"You know, you shouldn't be so mean to the staff. If you weren't they might make _you _hot chocolate in the mornings!"

Lucius chuckled and sat down next to Hermione, "Trust me my dear; if I wanted hot chocolate then I would get hot chocolate. However I am not here to pursue a childish drink as you can probably imagine."

"Why are you here then, to scare the cook?" Hermione muttered under her breath. She couldn't get the horrific images out of her head and she knew that he had something to do with them.

Lucius frowned, "I shall overlook you sharp tongue just this once, Hermione. I am actually here to inform you that we shall be having a formal dinner tonight due to a guest at the Manor. A Mr Severus Snape."

Hermione's head snapped up at the name, he was one of the scientists who worked in the lab.

"I expect you to dress nicely and be in the dining room at seven sharp," Lucius continued, not noticing anything, "just a word of advice; Severus is an extremely cynical man so don't take any insults to heart. He also happens to be a bookworm so you two should get on like a house on fire."

Hermione rolled her eyes and got up, "Is there anything else you would like, Lucius?"

"Yes, actually. Now that you mention it, Draco and I am taking some of the dogs on a walk around the woods in half an hour and I wonder if you would like to join us. We shall be on horseback, of course."

Hermione smiled and nodded, she could use some physical activity to help clear her head and it would be a perfect opportunity to ask Lucius about his job and lay some ground work.

"Well then, I shall see you in half an hour in the stables, Miss Rivers." Lucius got up and strode out of the room in his usual arrogant manner.

Mrs Dobbs sidled up beside Hermione and picked up the empty cup, "You know; you might be one of the only people alive who would dare insult Mr Malfoy to his face."

Hermione chuckled and shook her head, leaving the kitchen to get ready for the horse-ride.

* * *

Promptly twenty-five minutes later, Hermione skipped into the stables and was overcome by three large, happy dogs. Giggling, she fell to the floor as they scrambled all over her, licking her face and pawing her arms. Shoving them off of her, she stood up and patted them all on the head. She was that it was Hercules, Perseus and Athena.

"Well look what the dogs dragged in!" somebody said.

Hermione turned to see a chuckling Draco and she scowled good-naturedly at him. "I'll have you know, Mister Malfoy; that these dogs are more like wolves and I feel like I should be calling them White Fang!"

Draco grinned at her and enveloped her in a hug. They heard footsteps approaching them and it was almost comic how quickly they leapt away from each other feigning innocence.

As Lucius rounded the corner he caught of them and smirked, "Please, you may be able to hide it from Blaise but I am hardly fooled."

Draco coughed nervously and Hermione tapped her foot against the ground awkwardly.

Lucius rolled his eyes, "If I was not okay with it, I would have put a stop to it by now." He proclaimed as he strode over to a massive chestnut mare.

Hermione glanced over at Draco and giggled at the blatant relief in his eyes, "What about you and Pansy?" she whispered to him, "I thought it was him who initiated that."

"I know, it's weird. He's only ever been okay with me mingling with daughters of his friends; I guess he must just really like you or something."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, "How much does he pay your servants?"

Draco shrugged, "I don't know, like five hundred a month?"

"Huh, because my pay check is two thousand and he told me that that was how much he payed his other servants."

Draco shrugged and walked over to his horse, "Must just be a confusion or something."

"Or something," Hermione echoed as she chewed her lip in thought. Lucius did act strangely towards her, he was adamant about no boys, he gave her vast amounts of money and he was very lenient with her where he wasn't with others. She would have to keep an eye on that.

She walked over to where Koko was tied to a post. She untied her and checked all the straps were in place just as Draco had taught her, before mounting. She saw Draco had already mounted Vlad and Lucius had mounted his horse as well.

With an arm wave from Lucius, they all trotted out of the gate with the dogs running in-between the horses.

The journey through the fields was lovely, the sun was shining and the birds were singing and it improved Hermione's mood drastically. By the time they reached the entrance to the woods, she felt ready to start talking to Lucius.

"What's your horse called, Lucius?"

Lucius smirked and patted the mare's neck, "This is Aphrodite. A beautiful, fierce horse."

"I call her Afro for short," Draco sniggered.

"Take the dogs and do some cantering with them, you brat!" Lucius chuckled. Hermione was amazed at how his whole demeanour changed when he was around animals. She found it touching, if slightly ironic, that he had named his horse after the Goddess of Love.

Draco whistled to the dogs and kicked Vlad into a canter, disappearing beyond the tree line.

"So Hermione, how do you like Koko?" Lucius asked.

"She's absolutely lovely, if a little bit feisty at times." Hermione said, "Is breeding horses a habit of yours, along with dog-breeding?"

"I don't tend to breed horses. You could say that I am a collector of them. Every year I go to the finest Foal auction in the country and I buy the best one there. Sometimes I buy more than one, if two take my fancy."

Hermione smiled, "I seem to know a lot about your hobbies, but not a lot about your actual job. What is it exactly that you do?"

Lucius thought for a moment, "I am the Director of Malfoy Industries, which for the most part means lots of paperwork," he chuckled, "but Malfoy Industries does three main things. The first is creating new medicines and producing and improving old ones, the second is insuring hospitals and pharmacies and the third is international trade of rare ingredients that are required in the medicines we produce."

"Wow, so when you say you have a lot of power and influence over the country-"

"It basically means that without me the country loses a lot of valuable medicines and many hospitals are left without protection from being sued. The job does take up quite a lot of my time as you can imagine. I wonder; what career do you have an interest in pursuing after University?"

Hermione inwardly smirked; he had given her the perfect opportunity. "Well, I have been told many a time that I would be excellent in the government or in an office, but that idea doesn't really appeal to me. I would quite like to do something that involves research and experiment and helps a cause."

"How interesting. You know, there are always positions open in Malfoy Industries for researchers and developers of medicine. Would you consider a job there?"

Hermione smiled at him, "Thank you so much for the offer, but to be honest, medicine is contained. It is limited by the law and it means we can never achieve what we are fully capable of. For instance, imagine if there was some sort of drug that could heighten somebody's natural abilities. That means that the chance of them being in an accident would be considerably less and they would be able to contribute so much more to society."

Lucius had an unreadable expression on his face, but Hermione knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Interesting, very interesting. I wonder, Miss Rivers, would you be willing to break the law and go against human morals in order to create such a drug?"

Hermione smiled at him again, "If only the opportunity presented itself, Mr Malfoy."

* * *

**There you have it! Is that enough drama to keep you all going? In regards to Lucius' weird behaviour, all questions shall be answered in future chapters. It's gonna be good, guys! I can tell you here and now though that this is a Draco/Hermione fic, not a Lucius/Hermione one. I do quite like Lucius/Hermione but in this fic his weird behaviour towards her is for a completely different reason, there is no romance there; trust me. Just thought I'd clear that up unless there was any confusion. Anyways, please review for a sneak-peak and I hope you enjoyed! And Cherryberry, you can't hide from me forever, Mwahahahaha!;)**


	12. Chapter 12

***Quietly sidles up* *Hands over update* *Apologises sincerely for the long wait* *Disappears into the mist* **

**HEY! I'm back with a fresh new update! To Blazing Green, I am very sorry for not sending you a sneak-peak but I only saw your review when I logged on to post this! So instead, I shall dedicate this chapter to you Blazing Green! Thank you so much for your kind review;) So, I own nothing and on with the story! Review and you get a sneak-peak… yay!**

**P.S. This is a filler-type chapter, next chapter is gonna be awesome!**

* * *

Hermione took one final look at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. It wasn't at her violet dress, or beautifully curled hair; it was at the prospect of fooling Lucius into hiring her. She was sure that he would make his offer tonight, what with Professor Snape coming to dinner. Draco had already warned her that Snape was a rather cold man who preferred sarcasm to friendly conversation, but Hermione reckoned she could deal with him.

A sharp knock on the door echoed around the room and Hermione took one last look at herself before opening the door. To her surprise, it was Blaise and not Draco standing in the doorway.

"Blaise," said Hermione, "where's Draco?"

Blaise grinned at her, "You look nice Hermione. Lucius has Draco hostage in the drawing room along with Snape the sour grape so I'm here to escort you to dinner instead."

Grinning at his description of Snape, Hermione linked arms with Blaise and they started walking down the hallway to the dining hall.

"So, are you glad or sad to be leaving later on this evening?" asked Hermione, looking up at him.

Blaise considered it for a moment, "Kind of both, really. Whilst I do love spending time with the two of you, I think the amount of sappy lovey-dovey dribble is affecting my brain."

Hermione thwacked on the arm, "We are so not that bad! Besides, you were exactly the same with Ginny."

Blaise smirked, "All that effort getting you two together and now I want to throw up whenever you interact."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stoutly ignored him until her phoned beeped inside her clutch.

"Hope you're not going to have that on during dinner; Narcissa will kill you!" Blaise joked.

Still ignoring him, Hermione opened up the text from Ginny and frowned at the content; _The black bat has been born anew from the ashes many times._

It was clearly code for something, Hermione knew that 'born anew from the ashes many times' meant that someone was part of the order of the phoenix, but she didn't know any black bats.

Deciding to think on it more later, Hermione switched her phone to silent and slipped it back inside her clutch.

They walked in amicable silence until they reached the entrance hall where Narcissa stood waiting for them. She gave them a somewhat detached smile, "Hello Blaise, I trust you are well? And Hermione, you look lovely dear."

Hermione inclined her head in thanks and then followed Narcissa into the dining room. She instantly spotted Lucius sitting arrogantly at the head of the table, with Draco to his right and an imposing man with black hair and a dark aura to his left.

_So that's what Ginny meant by black bat, this guy must be the spy that told Dumbledore about the opportunity to infiltrate the Manor in the first place._

Narcissa hurriedly pushed Blaise and Hermione forward in a frantic manner that was so unlike the cool, composed woman she usually was. It put Hermione on edge; she didn't know what the feeling in the pit of her stomach was, but it was something akin to fear.

"Blaise, dear, if you sit next to Mr. Snape and Hermione, you sit next to Draco," said Narcissa, shoving them in the direction of their seats. Once they had both sat down at their seats Narcissa nodded agitatedly and made to leave the room.

"Aren't you dining with us Mrs Malfoy?" Hermione asked in confusion. Narcissa opened her mouth to speak but Lucius beat her to it.

"I'm afraid we shall be discussing things of a rather delicate nature, things my wife does not wish to hear about," he said, fixing Narcissa with a cool glare. Hermione was able to read between the lines enough to know that Narcissa had no choice whether or not she stayed. Hermione suddenly recognised the feeling inside her as pure and utter dread.

Narcissa scurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a resounding bang. One the echoes had faded Lucius turned his cool gaze onto Hermione.

"Miss Rivers, this is Severus Snape, a... researcher if you will."

Hermione nodded towards Severus, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Snape sneered, "No it's not, it never is. I am sure Lucius has already warned you about my particular brand of friendliness."

"Meaning," Lucius interrupted, "he isn't friendly at all."

Blaise sniggered, but covered it up with a cough when Snape turned to glare ferociously at him. Draco shook his head, "He'll warm up to you eventually Hermione, don't worry."

"If I could please stop being referred to as if I'm not here then we might be able to stop wasting time and get to the point. Why am I really here, Lucius?"

Lucius smirked, "Hermione, you told me that if the opportunity presented itself then you would willingly break the law to pursue a drug that could amplify human strength. Do you still hold true to that?"

Hermione carefully schooled her features into a confused expression, "Well, yes, but what has that got to do with anything?"

Still smirking, Lucius clapped his hands and five maids rushed in with platters that they carefully placed in front of the people sitting around the table. Hermione looked down to see an exotic fish soup in front of her.

"I think the topic is rather heavy, considering we haven't even started eating yet. Your questions shall be answered in time."

_Damn Lucius and his haughty calculations!_

Hermione knew exactly what he was doing; making her curious and eager to know more. It would make her more susceptible to whatever it was that he had to say. Little did he know that she already knew exactly what he was going to say.

Throughout the first course the conversation was light-hearted and didn't stray beyond football and the paintings that hung in the dining room. Lucius said they were gothic surrealism; Hermione thought they were creepy.

It was only when they were half way through their second course, roasted shoulder of lamb, did Lucius finally set down his cutlery to look at Hermione. He set his unwavering gaze on her and smirked when she set down her own cutlery and gulped down some water in nervousness.

"I have a job offer for you, Miss Granger."

She nearly choked on her water; it was unlike him to be so _forthright_. Clearing her throat weakly she met his gaze, "I thought I was already in your employment."

He grinned like a shark, "That you are, and you are doing a marvellous job of it as well. Draco, comment êtes-vous couramment dans la langue française?" _(How fluent are you in the French language?)_

Draco smirked, "Je suis père presque couramment ; je juste besoin d'un peu plus de pratique," he said arrogantly. (_I am nearly fluent father; I just need a bit more practice.)_

Lucius clapped his hands together slowly, "I congratulate you, Miss Rivers, it is not even Christmas and already my son knows a new language.

Hermione blushed, "Well, Draco is a very receptive student. I still have to teach him German and Russian though."

"Ah, but here's the thing Miss Rivers, French was the main language I wanted my son to learn given the family's French origins. The other two are merely bonuses. Now that he has learnt French, the language lessons can be less frequent. The extra time it grants you can be spent in this new job proposition, if you choose to take the opportunity."

Hermione looked around at the people sitting at the table. Lucius looked haughty as usual and Snape looked grim, but what worried her most were the reactions of Blaise and Draco. They had both straightened in their seats and had their fists clenched at their sides. Their jaws were set and their expressions steely.

"Father, I think we would all like to know exactly what this job offer is," Draco said in a clipped tone.

Lucius grinned mysteriously, "Snape, why don't you regale us with what it is you do?"

Snape sighed dramatically, scowling at being addressed. "As you know, I am a researcher. Also a developer, if you look at it from a rather cynical point of view."

"And what is it you develop?" asked Hermione.

"Impudent girl," he muttered, "I develop and research a drug that enhances human capabilities and makes them faster, stronger and more deadly, as well as destroying the sympathetic part of their brain. We had our first success not too long ago. Whilst the drug does work, an unfortunate side effect of destroying sympathy is that it targets and amplifies a more feral side of the brain. It turns sane men into glorified beasts."

Hermione carefully schooled her features into a look of shock, "Wow, and you say you've tested this drug on humans? Isn't that illegal?"

Lucius coughed, "Now, now, Hermione, didn't you say you were willing to break the law for the chance to research such a drug?"

Hermione chewed her lip, "Yes, I did say that."

"And you also said that you were willing to go against human moral."

Hermione sighed, "I also said that. I am guessing this job opportunity will be to help the Professor here develop the drug?"

Lucius ginned, "Snape?"

He got a fowl look in return but nevertheless Snape spoke, "As I said, the test subjects are glorified animals. We need to find a way to make sure they keep their human intelligence whilst destroying their sympathy. Your intelligence has been highly praised," here he sniffed self-righteously, "for a mere chit. We could do with another scientist as one of the first was found guilty of sabotaging the experiments on purpose."

Hermione nodded, Horace Slughorn was another mystery. He didn't work for the Order of the Phoenix otherwise Dumbledore would know about it. Unfortunately, if the records were true, Slughorn was dead and with him went some of the answers Hermione was looking for.

"May I ask why you are developing these… people?" she asked timidly, not really expecting an answer.

As predicted, Lucius' eyes hardened, "I'm afraid that particular piece of information is classified until further notice. Just know that it is for a good cause."

Hermione nodded, "I understand, what will happen if I refuse the job?"

Lucius sneered, "I will give you a drug that will make you forget all that you have heard and then I shall give you a sleeping draft and when you stumble downstairs tomorrow morning I shall explain that you had a bit too much to drink."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Could I have a couple of days to think about it please?"

"Impossible," said Snape, "we are doing a trial run of the successful subjects tomorrow and we'd need you to help record the results."

Her brow scrunched up, "A trial run? How will you do a trial run?"

Snape looked to Lucius, as if asking permission to tell her. At a slight nod of his head he turned to face her, "We have released three people, enemies of the organisation, into a small village called Hillsbury. We shall take a couple of the most successful test subjects and set them loose in the village to hunt down and kill these people."

Hermione gasped, "Kill? What happens if normal people get targeted and killed as well?"

Snape's face was stony, "Collateral damage. We need to see how effective our creations are."

Gulping, Hermione stood up on shaky legs, "Could you please give me a moment?"

Lucius tutted, "We need an answer here and now, Hermione."

Draco stood so abruptly that the table shook, "Let me talk to her for a minute, Father," he said with barely concealed anger. He then grabbed her hand and all but dragged her out of the dining room. Once they were well out of hearing range, he pushed her against a wall and pinned her there with his own body.

"Draco," she said calmly, "get off me or I will make you get off me."

However he ignored her, bending down to rest his forehead against hers with a pained expression on his face.

"Don't do this," he said in a heartbroken voice, "please, don't. You don't understand Hermione, these people kill and murder and torture. You're too good, too pure, to be a part of that."

Hermione barely contained a burst of outraged laughter. Her, good and pure? How little Draco knew. She was a spy, a con-woman, sent by his enemies to help bring his father's empire crashing down. She was supposed to hate him with every fibre of her being. She was supposed to show him no emotion. And here she was, falling in bloody love with him.

That was why she couldn't tell him of her broken origins, of her brutal upbringing, of her manipulations. Of how she was anything but good and pure. She cared about him too damn much.

"Draco, it's my decision," she said softly.

"Hermione, _please,_" he all but begged, "you're supposed to be my escape from all of it. I'm a part of it; hell knows I don't want to be! But I am, and you're supposed to be the good in my life, the redemption. A way to forget everything I've been forced to do. I tried to stay away from you in the beginning; I was so worried my darkness would infect your light and leave you broken like me. But I was too damn selfish. I still am and I won't let you be tarnished by the evil of what this job will bring."

Hermione's heart cracked a little at his words.

_Oh Draco, I'm already broken. I was broken before I was ten years old. My father… my father._

"It's alright Draco, trust me. I'll still be the same person after this. I promise you that," she said firmly.

_I've survived much worse._

Draco crashed his lips against hers with so much passion and desperation that would have fallen if it weren't for the wall and his arms sneaking around her middle.

They stayed like that for a while; simply seeking comfort in each other's embrace. Eventually, Draco pulled away. "I'll let you sort yourself out," he said softly, before disappearing down the corridor.

Hermione blew out a gush of air and slumped against the wall. Talk about an intense evening! She had been expecting the job offer, but not that they were going to risk the lives of innocent people just to try them out. They were all truly evil.

_Not all of them, Draco and Blaise aren't._

She mentally told her inner dialogue to shut up, concluding that she was at last going insane. Of course Draco and Blaise weren't evil; it was just Lucius and his kind.

_What defines evil? Lucius may appear to be evil on the surface but who knows what's lurking beneath?_

She growled and pushed herself off of the wall, pacing the hallway angrily. The first thing she needed to do was make sure there were Order members at the town where they were planning the attack. She dropped a quick text to Ron on her untraceable cell.

_Attack tomorrow at Hillsbury, several super-soldiers, don't know what time. Have Order members protect innocents, make sure they blend in._

Having sent the text she mentally prepared herself and walked with purpose back to the dining room. When she entered, all eyes were on her.

She took a deep breath, "I'm in."

Lucius grinned.

* * *

The rest of the meal passed in a fairly normal manner, considering what had just taken place. Again, conversation didn't stray far from civilised topics such as issues in the news. When Dinner was over, Lucius invited everybody to the library for brandy. Hermione politely declined, saying that the course of the evening had rather taken its toll on her energy levels.

Having said good-bye to Blaise, she was just walking up the big staircase when she heard somebody behind her. Turning around, she was surprised to see Draco hurrying up the stairs behind her.

He smiled sheepishly at her, "I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier. Allow me to make up for it?" He held out his arm and Hermione couldn't help the small giggle that erupted from her lips. Taking his arm, she allowed him to lead the way.

Hermione sighed in contentment as she let Draco lead her through the various halls and staircases until they finally emerged onto a huge balcony. Silver moonlight danced down and cast magical shadows over the elaborate stone fence covered with a creeping rose plant. Hermione looked up to see thousands of twinkling stars expanding over the deep, rich darkness of the sky.

Draco gently took her hand and looked her in the eye, his own irises the same beautiful shade of silvery grey as the mystical moonlight.

"You look beautiful tonight Hermione," he said softly as he lowered his lips to her own in a gentle, loving kiss. "Let me take you out on a date. A real date, with a romantic dinner and a cheesy film at the cinema."

As Hermione looked up into his eyes, so full of boyish hope, her heart simultaneously swelled and broke with the knowledge that she loved him but would invariably leave him. It was completely selfish of her, but she couldn't stop flinging her arms around him and agreeing with a joyous "Yes!"

"If I could interrupt this moment of blatant inappropriateness, I wish to speak to Miss Rivers alone concerning her new job," came a deep, sardonic voice behind her.

She had to supress a giggle when Draco rolled his eyes and mouthed 'greasy old bat' to her, before he kissed her goodnight and left her alone with Snape.

"Miss Rivers," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I don't know what on earth you are doing here but you are not just playing with fire; you're holding an active volcano filled with dynamite whilst balanced precariously on a tight-rope over a hundred-foot chasm!"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up, "Wow, I don't think I've ever heard someone say so much in one breath. I'm impressed."

Snape growled, "I don't want you to be impressed, I want you to get the hell out of here before you ruin everything and get yourself killed!"

She gritted her teeth together in anger; why did everybody doubt her so much? "Listen, I don't know why everyone has this impression that I'm this helpless, vulnerable little schoolgirl that everyone can just boss around; I'm not! I can do this!"

"You went shopping and nearly got raped."

Hermione gasped in outrage, "Firstly, there were four of them and one of me and I still got out, even with a near concussion! Secondly, you have no right to bring that up!"

Snape sneered, "I have every right. I have been here for years, Miss Rivers, and I have seen what these people do. It is not I sight I can expect an eighteen year old girl to be able to deal with. You are better of back at the Headquarters with the rest of your friends finding out all the information you can to help those of us with experience."

She was so close to slapping him, "I have made more discoveries here in a matter of days than anyone else in a matter of years! I am of way more use to the Order when I'm here and able to discover more."

He massaged his temples, "It may not seem like it, but I'm doing this for your own good. Being the stubborn girl you are; I know you are unlikely to back down so I shall warn you. If you continue on the path you have chosen then there will be a big surprise in future. And trust me, Miss Rivers; it isn't a basket of kittens. I warrant that you will have your heart ripped out at least twice."

A blank expression came over Hermione's face, "I assure you, I don't have a heart to be ripped out."

Snape smirked, "We'll see," is all he said.

Hermione huffed and barged past him, running up to her room. She sat don angrily at her desk and started yanking out her hair-pins, sending her curled locks tumbling down. It was official: the good mood Draco had installed in her had been completely destroyed by the meddlesome bat Snape. And he was supposed to be on her side!

A knock at the door halted her angry actions and she strode over and wrenched the door open. Her mood softened slightly when she saw Draco standing on the other side.

"Draco, what is it?" she asked.

He smiled charmingly, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after everything that happened tonight and Snape cornering you. He can be a little harsh at times."

"A _little_? He practically bit my head off!" She sighed and slumped against the door, "Truth be told, I'm absolutely exhausted. All I want to do is sleep and yet I'm worrying about the trial run tomorrow and whether or not I actually need to be there and whether I can cope with it."

Draco chuckled, "I think you're over-thinking things. You won't have to actually witness the deed itself, just be nearby ready to monitor the success. Snape isn't stupid enough to put one of his scientists in risk of death on her very first day!"

Hermione forced a smile, but truth be told she was too tired to even let out a small chuckle. Going up on tip-toes, she gave him a small peck on the mouth and looked straight into his beautiful eyes, "Thank you, Draco, I don't think I would have been able to cope without you."

He rolled his eyes, "Please, I think I did more harm than good what with my practically assaulting you in the corridor earlier. Good night, Hermione, I hope you sleep well."

"You too," she said before shutting the door. She sighed and leant against it, smiling when she remembered the planned date with Draco. They hadn't figured out when it was going to happen, but Hermione was content with it just being there as a beacon of light in her future.

Stumbling over to her chest of drawers, she yanked out some pyjamas and after carefully removing her dress she chucked them on and plodded towards her bed. Belly-jumping onto it, she snuggled down in the soft pillows and was asleep in seconds; her night plagued with dreams of her past and future melding together to create a monster too big for her to handle. She didn't know how she could beat it without her soul blackening a little more.

* * *

**Ooh, things are getting tense for Hermione! I really want to get across the idea that she's gradually becoming darker and we'll see plenty of opportunity for her to go slightly crazy in the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed the Dramione fluffiness, I felt I was missing out on a bit of that! Please review and you get a sneak-peak of quite possibly my favourite chapter yet!**

**GoldieXx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys; don't even ask why this is so late. I have been so busy with all my work and to top it all off my Grandad had a heart attack! He's alright now, but it was quite a scare for the family. Unfortunately there will be no sneak-peak reward for next chapter because I'm afraid I don't have the time, however I will try and be a bit quicker. Thanks to Malibu Baybreeze and Cherryberry8 for your continuous support, I luv you guys!;)Please review and I hope you enjoy! **

**VERY IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE UNDER 18, YOU SHOULD NOT BE READING THIS! There is no smut (yet) but there is quite a bit of swearing and some VERY ADULT THEMES! Also, I only own the plot.**

* * *

Having said goodbye briefly to Hermione and Draco and watched Snape run off to do some unknown task, Blaise was now alone in the library with Lucius. He had nothing against the haughty blond; it was just that he had seen all the Slytherin parents undergo a massive change some nine odd years back.

Thankfully for Draco; Lucius had just become a bit scarier then he previously was, but he was manageable. However, having said that, Blaise could feel Lucius' sharp eyes trained on his back and it was making him rather uncomfortable. He coughed nervously and could almost _hear _Lucius smirking as a result. What with the rather eventful dinner party that had just taken place, Blaise didn't doubt that Lucius had something to say to him. He was right.

"As you know, Blaise, twice a year an initiation ceremony is held to welcome the new recruits to the outer circle of Slytherins. The next one is scheduled for Christmas day at precisely eight pm. I was rather hoping Hermione would be amongst the new recruits."

Blaise gasped, "Hermione? Don't you think that getting her to work for the Slytherins is enough? Now you want to initiate her into the outer circle?"

Lucius shrugged elegantly, "She shows mighty potential. Plus, all the other scientists are members of either the inner or outer circle. I have confidence that she will ascend the ranks with great speed and end up in the council within a few months."

Blaise shook his head to clear it, "She's only eighteen and she has no blood relatives already in the council. She'd have had to be in the ranks for at least twenty years before getting to the top."

Chuckling, Lucius took a swig of his drink, "Things aren't always what they seem, Blaise. I have high hopes for Miss… Rivers." He said Hermione's surname as if he was drinking an exotic wine; sensuous with a hidden maliciousness.

Blaise collapsed down in an arm chair nearby, "What has any of this got to do with me, Lucius?"

"Because at that same initiation ceremony Draco and you shall be joining the council," he said. Blaise's eyes widened.

"What? But I don't have any blood relations in the council either!"

"Don't raise your voice Blaise," said Lucius, "it has all been taken care of. Unbeknownst to you I have been acting as your 'father' ever since your own father had his little accident."

Blaise sneered, "I killed my father and you know it. The rest of the council know it. Lord bloody Voldemort knows it. Surely that makes me an enemy?"

To Blaise's surprise, Lucius just laughed. Talking about Lord Voldemort in such a way was usually enough in itself to receive a severe punishment.

"My dear Blaise, it's a wolf's world. If you were strong enough to kill your own father whilst still only a boy; then we want you with us, not against us. How old were you, anyway? Fifteen, sixteen…?"

Blaise gritted his teeth together, "Fourteen, actually. And I didn't do it so that I would get a free initiation into Voldemort's council. I did it to save my mother and myself from his abuse. I don't regret it at all."

Lucius shook his head, almost sympathetically, "Not many are strong to do what you did, Blaise. I was seventeen."

Blaise's mouth fell open; there were too many revelations this evening for him to cope with. Not noticing his shocked expression, Lucius continued.

"Much like you, my father Abraxas was abusive to my mother. I tried many times to stop him, but repeatedly failed. I was seventeen when I finally killed the bastard and like you, I'm glad I did it."

"Does Narcissa know? Does Draco?" Blaise asked.

Lucius sighed, "Narcissa knows, but Draco doesn't. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him, I want to do it myself and you might put ideas into his head," he chuckled ruefully.

Blaise shook his head. He lived in such a fucked up world, him and everybody he knew. He liked to think that somewhere there was a place where the only thing people cared about was friendship and flowers; long strolls on the beach without shoes simply because you couldn't be fucked to put them on. He liked to think there was a world without manipulation. However, even if it did exist, he knew it was inaccessible to him. Maybe that was why his mother kept running; to try and find that world. He silently wished her luck.

"Why are you telling me this, Lucius?"

Lucius exhaled and took another long gulp of brandy, "When it was over, when he was dead on the floor in front of me, I promised myself that I would never expose any child of mine to the kind of abuse I had suffered through. I know it doesn't show all the time, but I do love Draco, as any father would love his child."

"That doesn't answer my question," said Blaise.

"I want you to keep that in mind. That every father loves his child."

Blaise scrunched his brow, why did Lucius have to be so damn cryptic? "What the hell is that supposed to mean and what has it to do with me? My father's dead."

Lucius smiled sadly, "I need you to be there for someone who might not know it. Do you understand me, Blaise?"

Blaise scowled, "But-"

"Blaise, do you understand me?" Lucius insisted.

Blaise nodded reluctantly. He still had no idea what Lucius was getting at, but he was patient. He figured that he would understand in time.

"Good," announced Lucius, "now, back to the task at hand. There is a meeting of the council the day after tomorrow, and I would like you to attend it with me. Lord Voldemort already knows and is fine with it. We will leave for London tonight and spend tomorrow preparing in my office."

Blaise nodded again, he knew he had no choice in this matter, "What time will we leave?"

Lucius glanced at his million-pound wristwatch and hummed in irritation at it. "It's already half past ten. We shall leave as soon as you have packed all the necessary things. Once the meeting is over, you can come back to the Manor with me."

"But I had plans to meet my mother in-"

Lucius handed him a letter wordlessly. Blaise accepted it and looked at Lucius questioningly. "I haven't opened it; however it came with a letter for me. It's from your mother."

Opening it up, Blaise stroked the thick paper lovingly.

_My Darling Blaise,_

_I am afraid I cannot come back to England at the moment, I am so sorry to let you down. I am currently in Italy with your grandparents and I plan to stay here for an unsure amount of time._

_The thing is Blaise, there is a war coming and I don't want to be anywhere near it. I know it's selfish, but I don't want you near it either. However, I suspect that you will want to be with your friends and I understand and respect that._

_I want you to be careful though, I have just two requests for you. The first is don't let this war change who you are. It changed your father, and you know how that went. You are a kind, intelligent, thoughtful boy, Blaise. Never lose that._

_Secondly, choose your side carefully. There are so many more sides than just two, Blaise. I warrant that there are many people who you consider your closest allies who are actually your enemies and those you consider your enemies who are actually watching your back. There will be some that are doing both. Choose the side that you feel is right and stick to it._

_I am so sorry that I am not there with you, but I will be thinking of you every day. Be strong, Blaise, don't let anyone tell you what to do._

_I love you so much my brilliant boy,_

_Your Mother XXX_

Blaise scrunched the letter in his hand, "I'm not a boy anymore, mother!" He spat. He turned to throw the letter into the fire, but in the end he could not. However much she kept hurting him, he could not just abandon her like that. Reluctantly, he smoothed out the letter and placed it back in the envelope.

Sighing he turned back to Lucius, "I'll go and pack my things."

He didn't wait for a reply; he just quickly left the library and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. Once he had reached his room, he grabbed his suitcase from under the bed and started throwing stuff inside of it.

What he couldn't understand was why Lucius hadn't told Draco about Abraxas. Draco was an adult now, and deserved to know why he didn't have a grandfather. Blaise also couldn't guess why Lucius had decided to tell him, there was that shit about helping a friend in the future but with every passing moment Blaise was beginning to believe that less and less.

Maybe it was just tiredness or stress talking, but now that Blaise thought about it; he had absolutely no idea what was going on in the world of the Slytherins, he was never told anything. All he knew was that Voldemort was building an army for an unknown reason. His mother was right, a war was coming and Blaise had absolutely zero idea where he stood.

However he had no clue as to what his mother meant about there being more than one side. Sure, Blaise knew it was more complicated than a light side and a dark side, but there were still only two sides. The Order of the Phoenix and the Slytherins. He couldn't think of one other side, let alone many. And he knew which side he was on, he was on the side of the Slytherins with his friends. The bad side.

However, Blaise knew that the Slytherins couldn't be all bad. Hermione was joining their side, and she was the best person he knew. Draco was with them as well and he was Blaise's best mate. Even Lucius had a pinch of compassion.

Groaning, Blaise slammed his suitcase shut and massaged his temples. All of this was giving him a massive headache. Dragging his luggage downstairs he slouched over to where Lucius was standing by the front door.

Giving him a sarcastic grin Blaise mock-saluted, "Where to, captain?"

Lucius rolled his eyes and walked out of the door, followed closely by Blaise. They walked up to a black car and Lucius gestured for him to get in the back. How a car could be both flashy and noncommittal, Blaise would never be able to figure out. It was one of Lucius' finer talents.

Having shoved his luggage in the boot, Blaise climbed in to the back seat and shoved some headphones over his ears. They then disappeared into the night.

* * *

Blaise groaned and banged his head against the desk. After being dragged out of his hotel bed at nine in the morning, he was then hauled to Lucius' office where a mountain of paperwork lay before his eyes. It was now eight in the evening, and Blaise had only taken one half-hour break to eat.

Massaging his temples, he groaned again and glared at Lucius, "Why the hell do we have to do so much damn paperwork for one measly meeting?"

Lucius sighed, "The majority of it isn't for meeting, it's just business I have to have cleared up before tomorrow."

"Yeah, no shit it isn't to do with the meeting. It's just security clearances and background checks and loads of _fucking_ financial-"

"Blaise," Lucius scolded, "mind your tongue. If you speak like that at the meeting tomorrow then you will-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll have my tongue pulled out or whatever. Tell me about this damn meeting, is Voldemort even going to be there?"

Lucius shrugged, "I have no idea. He keeps very much to himself."

Blaise huffed, "Great. Has anyone actually seen him or is he just an invention to boost moral?"

"Oh, he's very much real Blaise, and not at all what one would expect." Lucius said, leaning back in his chair, "As for the meeting; here are the essentials."

He dropped a folder down in front of Blaise and looked at him expectantly. Blaise opened the folder and shook out the sheets of paper inside. The one on top was the classical sheet of paper blank apart from the 'Top Secret' stamped across it in bold red.

The next page had a picture of a man at the top and relevant information about him below. If one were to take a brief glance at the picture they would find nothing amiss. However, if you looked at it more closely you would see that the man in the photo had some distinctly odd features. His face was hard; harder than normal, with a large mouth with the tips of his incisors visible. His eyes were small and the whites had a very yellow tinge to them. The irises themselves were practically black. All in all, he did not look at all friendly.

"Fenrir Greyback," started Lucius, "our first successful experiment. His abilities are all massively increased but some of his characteristics are peculiar. Being violent by nature; he and the rest of the successful subjects have developed a pecking order that is drafted by how long they have been turned and then finalised through combat. Greyback has successfully retained the position of 'alpha' for a long enough period of time that hardly any of the others challenge him anymore."

"But surely you, or your superiors, can control Greyback and his 'pack'?"

Lucius tapped his fingers against the wood of the desk, "To a certain extent, yes we can. However, the way they think and the way they act is solely drawn from a basic animal instinct. This therefore makes them sexist, arrogant and quick to draw blood. This in turn makes them hard to control."

Blaise nodded, "So the meeting is about how to control them?"

"Exactly, they are essential to our cause and until Miss Granger comes up with a way to stop the animal instinct we need to put them on a leash so to speak."

"What exactly is our cause, Lucius?"

Lucius suddenly stiffened, "That is a complicated question with an even more complicated answer. I would advise that you discover it for yourself," he said crisply before standing up and sweeping out of the door.

Blaise sighed and stood up, making his way out of the door after Lucius.

* * *

After another early morning get up with a lot of moaning on Blaise's part, they finally reached the destination of the meeting. It didn't look particularly foreboding at all, it was just a small corner shop selling various trinkets.

The little old lady behind the desk scurried over to them when Lucius strode in looking like he owned the place. She adjusted her spectacles and rocked nervously on her heels, "Can I help with anything at all?"

Lucius nodded, "Yes, I'd like some hand-knitted socks."

The lady nodded, her mouth forming a small 'oh,' "Any particular preferences?"

"Black with green snakes would be ideal."

The lady nodded and beckoned for them to follow her. She led them through the little door to the side into the storage room and over to a large mirror covered with various material scraps. She felt around the edge for a moment until a defining 'click' was heard and the mirror swung open to reveal a metal door with a keypad. The old lady nodded to them again and then bustled back into her shop.

Lucius quickly entered a six digit code and the door swung open, a small room revealed. They stepped into it and the metal door shut again. It was only when the small room began to move downwards that Blaise realised it was an elevator.

Blaise coughed, "So, what should I-"

"Don't speak unless spoken to, don't make eye contact and don't offer to shake hands with someone you're meeting," Lucius rattled off in a monotone.

Blaise nodded, rolling his eyes inwardly at Lucius' drama. His thoughts suddenly swung to Hermione, and he realised that she would have already done the test run yesterday. He felt like an idiot for not calling her and seeing how it went. When the elevator stopped moving and the steel door opened into an ominous corridor of black marble; he realised it could wait until later.

Lucius walked confidently out of the elevator, his cane tapping along the polished marble floor. Blaise however was not so sure, and followed behind him wary even of his own shadow. After several twists and turns throughout the spooky corridor, they finally reached a large set of double doors. Swinging them open self-importantly, Lucius strode into the room and immediately the quiet chatter died down.

The room turned out to be more of a hall, holding at least thirty people sitting around a very long table. The chair at the head of the table was empty; but the grandest Blaise had ever seen. Evidently it was the throne of none other than Voldemort himself.

"Ah, Lucius," a voice called out from near the head of the table, "so good of you to grace us with your presence at last."

Lucius smirked and walked to the head of the table, where he took the seat to the left of the head. The man on the right, the one who had greeted him, sat back in his chair. He was tall and thin, with greying brown hair and thin lips. His eyes glinted dangerously around the room and his long, spindly fingers drummed against the wood of the table.

"I had to use the shop entrance," said Lucius "that damned code, why the hell does it have to be about socks?"

"Now, now Lucius," came none other than Snape's voice, Blaise should have known he'd be present, "You know that it's standard procedure."

Lucius sneered, "I could care less about standard procedure. I take it the Dark Lord is not joining us today?"

The thin dangerous looking man replied, "No, not today." His eyes swung to Blaise, "Who's this Lucius?"

Lucius motioned for Blaise to step forward, "This here is Blaise Zabini. He's to join the council soon along with my son."

"Ah, Blaise," the man purred, "I am so glad that you came to join us. Tell me, do you feel honoured to be joining our noble cause?"

Here it was; the cause thing again. Blaise really had no idea if he as honoured or not, but his self-preservation answered for him, "Yes sir, I am so glad to finally be serving under Lord Voldemort."

The man nodded slowly, "That's good. My name is Marcus, and I am one of Lord Voldemort's right-hand men. Lucius and Severus are my… partners if you will."

Blaise nodded, already knowing that Lucius and Snape were in deep with Voldemort, "I hope that I can be an asset to him and to you, sir."

Marcus chuckled, "Such impeccable manners, but there's really no need. Come and sit, the meeting is just about to begin."

Just then a bell rang somewhere and everybody scrambled to their seats. Blaise looked around for a free chair, and swallowed his discomfort when Marcus grinned slyly and gestured to the empty one next to him.

As he sat down, Marcus stood up and addressed everybody in a confident manner, "Welcome everybody. As I'm sure you all know; we are meeting here today to discuss the situation with Fenrir and his pack. The animal is extremely difficult to control and we need a way to control him. Severus, if you will?"

Snape stood up and in his usual monotonous drawl said, "The only way we are going to successfully control him is to make him think he's getting more out of it then us. We therefore need to make a deal of sorts with him. We give him something and we get subordination in return."

"But we've already given him something," an eager voice yelled from near the bottom of the table, "we've given him the opportunity to follow our Lord and Master Voldemort!"

"Silence!" bellowed Marcus, "That alone is not enough, we need something else. Something that appeals to animals."

There was a loud bang from a small door to the side of the hall and through it swept about the most unhinged woman Blaise had ever met.

"Oh please," she sneered, "you are so clueless, Marcus."

Marcus' lips thinned and he glared at the woman, "Bellatrix, how nice of you to join us, would you care to sit down?"

The woman, who sported dark clothes and an unruly mass of oil-black hair scoffed, "I'm not staying for long boys, I just thought I'd help out with the mentally constipated group for a little while."

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose, "And what is it exactly that you can contribute Bellatrix?" he said in a tight voice; apparently this Bellatrix wasn't very popular.

"You know the problem with you lot is that you try to differentiate between man and animal. To us woman, you're one in the same," she cackled gleefully.

"For God's sake woman, just get to the point," Snape drawled.

Bellatrix frowned, "In my experience, men are only interested in three things; power, food and sex. Since Greyback already has power being the alpha and has no qualms against ripping animals to shreds for his meals; the guy needs a shag buddy."

Blaise gagged, this woman was truly insane. "Can't he just use one of his female pack mates?" someone called out.

Bellatrix shook her head and grinned lecherously, "All his pack mates are vicious, they won't ever let him have complete control. Remember what I said, men love power, food and sex. Fenrir wants all three at once. He wants someone he can completely break, someone who he can bend to his every whim."

Blaise was now feeling sick, and he wasn't the only one. Several members of the table looked to be thoroughly uncomfortable. However, what made Blaise feel like vomiting; was that several other people around the table were grinning slimily and all but rubbing their hands together. Sick bastards.

Marcus looked to be considering it, "It could work Bellatrix, but where would we find someone? And what if he doesn't like who we choose?"

Bellatrix scoffed, "It doesn't matter where you find someone, I'll leave that one up to you. The only hint I'll give you before I leave you kiddies alone is that you should present him with a choice. He'll feel more in control that way. Ooh, look at the time, I must be off! Ciao."

Then she proceeded to sashay out of the room in a rather crazed manner, leaving a very mixed atmosphere."

Finally, Marcus spoke, "She might be half-mad, but she's rarely wrong when it comes to the more twisted things in life. I say we give it a go and provide Fenrir with a plaything."

"How about we let him choose from the prisoners?" Someone shouted, "That way, suspicions won't arise."

Marcus nodded, "I agree, that would be for the best."

"What happens when he kills the unfortunate girl, as he invariably will?" asked Lucius in a bored tone, but Blaise knew him well enough to know that he was masking disgust.

The same could not be said for Marcus, "It is of no concern to me, we'll just provide him with a shiny new one. I believe we have solved this problem gentlemen, now onto more interesting topics."

There was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, and Blaise spotted the tail end of a secretive glance between Lucius and Marcus.

"As you know," announced Lucius, "there will be an initiation ceremony on December 25th and two new people will be joining the council. The first is my son, Draco Malfoy."

Nobody was surprised at this and Lucius continued, "The second is none other than Blaise Zabini."

At this the room exploded into whispers as people eyed Blaise up. Clearly they knew about what had transpired between him and his father.

"It is my hope that you will embrace them as part of our community and that we shall all benefit from their skills."

Blaise frowned and turned to Lucius, "Didn't you say that Hermione was to amongst the new recruits as well?"

Marcus sniggered, "Is that what you told the boy?"

Suddenly, Blaise felt uneasy, "What have I missed?" he asked.

Lucius grinned, "Of course Hermione will be amongst the new recruits, once we've cleared up a few things regarding her."

"Lucius, you must tell me about this girl!" said Marcus dramatically.

He smirked and turned to Blaise, "I think young Mr Zabini here is more than capable of sharing this little discovery," he said, looking at Blaise smugly.

Blaise gulped, something strange was going on here, "Well, she's extraordinarily clever. She knows five languages and is skilled enough that Snape has just taken her on working with the serum. She's also trained in karate and is quite capable of fighting off multiple untrained opponents. I've seen her do it."

Marcus grinned and folded his arms together, "She certainly sounds like a little miracle. Tell me, what is this girl's name?"

"Hermione Rivers, sir," said Blaise.

"Hermione Rivers," he repeated slowly, "Lucius?"

Lucius cleared his throat haughtily, "Hermione Rivers, a lovely name don't you agree? Shortly after I employed her I created a massive search on the internet for her. Standard procedure, you know. I found all the mandatory paperwork, things that could be forged but nothing more than that. No Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter. My first thought was just that she wasn't exactly a social butterfly, but that didn't really sit well with me."

"Mr Malfoy," said Blaise nervously, "what exactly are you trying to say?"

Marcus chuckled, "Hermione Rivers doesn't exist, Blaise. She never did. Hermione Granger on the other hand, is very real."

Blaise's eyebrows shot up, "Hermione Granger? Her surname's not Granger, it's Rivers!"

"That's what you were supposed to think. She's not who you think she is Blaise," said Lucius. Blaise turned to him in horror.

"You knew? All this time you knew?"

Lucius nodded slowly, "Yes Blaise, almost right from the start."

Blaise slumped back in his chair, not knowing what to think, "Why would she lie about something like that?"

Marcus scoffed and stood up aggressively from his chair, "Why don't you ask her yourself?" he spat, motioning to the massive doors. They opened and Blaise got a very bad feeling in his stomach when he saw two men dragging a bound woman with a bag over her head into the room

His fears were confirmed when the bag was ripped from her head to reveal a very terrified Hermione. Her eyes darted around the room in alarm and then they locked very suddenly on the smug figure of Marcus.

If it was possible, she became even more frightened and bucked wildly against the two men holding her. She managed to kick the feet of one of them under and as he fell to the ground she kicked him again in the chin which caused him to let go of one of her arms. She used that arm to elbow the other man fiercely in the stomach causing him to double over in pain, which gave her the perfect opportunity to sweep him off his feet and onto the hard ground.

She then crouched into a defensive position; her eyes scanning the room in a feral manner. She was acting purely on instinct, Blaise had seen it before when she had stopped Blaise's fist from connecting with her face all those weeks ago in the library. However that was just play; this was very real.

When Hermione caught sight of him her face fell and Blaise was tempted to run and embrace her; he didn't care about the Slytherins, Hermione was one of his best friends.

"What's going on," she squeaked, clearly frightened for her life. Blaise heard Marcus scoff.

"Hello Hermione, it is so good to finally meet you. Blaise told me all about you, about how you can fight off multiple untrained opponents, but these men aren't untrained. In fact, they are the opposite and you still got the better of them. I will admit I am impressed, but it takes more than a few karate skills to do what you just did. I believe you are trained in a lot more areas of martial arts?"

Hermione slowly straightened, glaring defiantly at Marcus, "Why should I tell you anything?" she spat.

He tutted, "Now now, Hermione, I think you should be a bit more polite. After all, I'm the one holding all the cards."

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I know everything; your name, your skills, why you pursued employment with Lucius. The question is; are you willing to admit it?"

Hermione's face was ashen, her honey eyes helplessly searching for a way out. She remained silent.

Marcus grinned like a shark, "Then how about I tell you and everyone in this room? And then we'll see what Lord Voldemort has to say about it."

She cast her eyes downward; Blaise could see the tears forming in her eyes. She seemed to be muttering something quietly under her breath, but it was too quiet for him to hear.

Marcus was still grinning, "Let me tell you a story, little Hermione…"

* * *

**Ooh, tensions are rising! Next chapter we skip over into Hermione's head! Please review and I hope you enjoyed!**

**GoldieXx**


End file.
